Frozen Heart, Frozen Eyes
by foxface15
Summary: When Carlisle's intern wakes up after an accident as a vampire with strange powers that don't allow anyone to comfort her, can she find a way to cope with her new life as a vampire? 16 year old Sarah Pearce must face this challenge head on, but will she break and burn, such an opposite fate as her eyes?
1. Prologue

LOCAL GIRL MISSING July 3, 1938

A Salt Lake City local 16 year-old, Sarah Pearce, went missing yesterday evening after leaving her internship job under Dr. Carlisle Cullen at the local hospital. The nurse that last saw her said that she volunteered to stay late to help supply the need of hands in the hospital emergency room. Once she was done, she was asked if she needed a ride home by one of the nursing staff. She politely declined, saying that her house was only a mile away and that she could walk. That was the last contact that anyone had with her. When she didn't return home that night, her parents called the hospital to see if she was still there. When they heard that she wasn't, they called 911. Rescue teams are still searching for Sarah, but no evidence has turned up. Suspects are being interviewed but no clear cause for Sarah's disappearance is evident.


	2. Beginnings

AN: I do not own any of the original Twilight characters. They belong to Stephanie Meyer.

3 Months Earlier

Hospital

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Sarah POV

I walk up to the main doors of the hospital.

"Normal girls don't do this Sarah, so why do you?" I chuckle, remembering my friend Brittany's remark when I told her I was going to apply for an internship.

"Because I want to help people, Britt, don't you?"

"Well, yeah, but you're only 16, aren't you starting a little early?"

"The earlier the better, right?"

*sigh* I_ was_ starting early, but if I didn't start now, would I ever? People think I'm crazy, but at least _I _can see reason for it. It gave me something to do. Something to feel accomplished about. I'm glad that my parents support me. They're proud of me. I mean, at least i wasn't like other teenagers my age.I want to be a doctor, have good grades, in the top five in my class, I'm the good girl, I guess. I _do _want to be a doctor, but not just because I can help people, which is the only reason that they think that I want to become one. The other reason is because we're poor. Our scrap of an automobile breaks down what seem like once a week. Sometime we don't get the money to fix it, so my younger brother and sister and I have to walk to school. I told my parents that I would drop out of school to work and make money for the family, but my parents were determined about my education. When I heard about the internship job at the hospital, I immediately told my parents about it and asked if I could apply, even though I was only 16. They agreed, and said that becoming a doctor would be great for me.

I smile to myself, realizing that I _am _a good girl, but only because my parents want me to be.

I walk inside and make my way up to the nurses' station, where a small women in a nurse's outfit glances up at me. I smile shyly back at her. She politely returns the smile.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, please. I would like to apply for the internship position."

She looked at me like I was crazy.

"How old are you?", she asked curiously.

"16, ma'am." I replied quietly. I knew I would get this reaction. People always seem to question teenager's reasons for helping out in the community.

"Well, I guess that age shouldn't prevent you from helping out in the hospital.", she says, seeing my reaction. "What's your name?", she asks kindly.

"Sarah Pearce", I say, smiling.

The nurse starts to scribble on a piece of paper.

"Ok", she says, "I'll need you to fill out this information sheet, and then bring it back to me, Ok?"

"Ok", I reply, and take the sheet to an empty chair in the corner of the room and sit down, smiling because sometimes age isn't everything.

I finish filling out the sheet and return it to the nurse. She takes the sheet and reads over it, making sure that everything is filled out.

"Alright, Sarah. You look good to start work, but because you're under 18 I'll have to place you under a doctor's supervision."

"Ok", I reply, thinking to myself that this might be better than I thought, because if I was under a doctor, I'll have a chance to learn more.

The nurse looks at another piece of paper behind her desk and jots something down on my application paper.

"Ok, Sarah, you are assigned under Dr. Cullen. He is in the break room right now." She points down a hallway to the right.

"Thank you", I happily reply, ready to start work. I walk down the hallway until I see a closed door labeled 'Break Room'. I quietly knock on the door.

"Come in.", calls a voice from inside.

I open the door and there, sitting at a small table in the back of the room reading a newspaper, is a beautiful man who looks up at me when I enter the room.

"Hello." He says.


	3. Introductions

Hospital

Sarah POV

All I can do is stare. The man is beautiful. He has light blond hair and a chiseled face with perfect features. His skin is pale white. I look at his eyes, which almost make me jump as much as his beauty. They're gold. Weird, I've never seen that eye color before. Maybe it's just a weird kind of hazel.

The man puts down the newspaper and looks up.

"Can I help you?" He asks politely.

I regain control of my senses. "Yes, sir, I'm looking for Dr. Cullen?"

He smiles. "That's me." He says cheerfully. "What can I do for you?"

"Ummm, my name is Sarah Pearce; I was just assigned as your intern."

"Oh, wonderful, an intern! I'm glad to meet you Sarah." He walks up to me and holds out his hand. I take it, only to be surprised at how cold it is.

"Wow", I say, before I can stop myself, "You're really cold."

"Yes, it is cold in here." He replies. "Well, since you're my intern, why don't we get to know each other?", he says, gesturing to a pair on chairs around a table.

I take a seat and he sits down across from me. "So Sarah, how old are you? You look a little younger than the usual people that apply for internships." He asks.

*sigh* "I'm 16. I get that question a lot."

"Wow. You're young." He says with a look of confusion on his face. "What made you want to apply?"

"I want to be a doctor, I want to help people." I reply, glancing down.

"That's amazing Sarah", he says suddenly, causing me to look up. "Not that many people your age have goals like that."

I can barely talk. I clear my throat. "Thank you, sir, not many adults see me like that. They think I'm crazy." I say, smiling.

"Well, if you want my opinion, I think there should be more young people like you." He replies. "Why don't you tell me about yourself?" he asks kindly.

"Ok," I don't know where to begin. I run through topics in my head. I stop on family." Well, I'm the oldest of three; I have a little brother and sister. Me, them, and my parents live together." I'm just speaking my thoughts by now. "I like to read, and go to the diner with my friends…" I look up at Dr. Cullen. He smiles at me.

"You seem like an interesting young lady." He infers.

I blush and look down. We sit in silence for a minute or two. "What about you?" I ask, looking up.

Dr. Cullen leans back in his seat. "Well, I have a wife and three children, two boys and a girl. You might have seen them at school?"

"I think so…" I reply. I did remember the Cullen kids. They always sat by themselves in the corner at lunch time. I never really saw them much, and didn't pay them much attention.

Dr. Cullen broke my silence. "It will be nice to work with you Sarah. I think we'll both enjoy it very much.", he said with a smile.

"Thank you, sir." I replied shyly.

"You don't have to call me sir, Sarah. Please call me Carlisle." He said.

"Carlisle.", I agreed.

Edward POV

Emmett and I are sitting on the couch when Carlisle's automobile pulls in the driveway of our house in Salt Lake City, Utah. When he walks through the door, I can tell he's in a happier mood than usual. I decide to look into his thoughts to see why.

_Sarah seems like a nice girl. She's smart, and wants to do good. To me she seems like an ideal daughter. If I was her father I would be proud. I'm glad that I'm the one who is supervising her._

Hmm. Carlisle seems fond of this girl named Sarah. I hope that he doesn't get too close to her. We'll have to move soon.


	4. Collision Course

3 Months Later

July 2, 1938

Hospital

Sarah POV

Carlisle and I are walking down the hallway after seeing a patient. It's been 3 months since I signed up for the internship and he and I have become close friends.

"You're birthday will be soon, won't it?" Carlisle asks.

"Yeah, August the 18th.", I reply happily. I can't wait to be 17. The way I see it, the older I am, the more privileges I'll have.

"That's nice." Carlisle replies as we reach the nurses' station.

"Dr. Cullen," one of the nurses says "there's a shortage in the staff for the emergency room. Do you mind staying?"

Carlisle scratches his head. I know that he wants to go home. He's been working double-shift for the past three nights in a row.

"I can stay." I volunteer. Everyone looks at me. I turn to Carlisle. "It's okay. I know you want to go home."

"Are you sure, Sarah? I can stay if you want." Carlisle asks.

"Positive. You need to rest." I assure him.

"Well, okay, if you insist. Goodnight ladies."

"Goodnight" We reply together.

We all get back to work as Carlisle walks out the door.

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"Goodnight!" I call to the nurses.

"Are you sure you don't need a ride home, Sarah?" one of the nurses asks.

"Yes, I'm sure, but thank you though." The nurse still looked worried. "Don't worry. My house is only a mile away. It's not that far." I assure her.

"Ok, but be careful." She calls as I walk out the door.

"Always." I reply

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I watched as the lights of the hospital slowly faded behind me. I look up. I don't see the moon or the stars out tonight. There must be a cloud cover. By the time that I'm halfway to my house, I can barely make out a thing. I walk along the sidewalk in the darkness, barely able to make out my surroundings. But I can hear. And what I do hear makes me start running. An automobile. Coming up behind me. Fast. I don't see headlights. I can hear drunken laughter coming from the automobile. "Stupid bastards." I say to myself. The automobile gets closer and closer. I run, as fast as I can, until I hear the automobile veer up onto the sidewalk. I gasp and push myself harder, but it is of no use. The car hits me and everything turns black.


	5. Rescued

Edward POV

Emmett and I are running across town, we're going hunting tonight in Wasatch National Forest, when I smell the blood about half a mile from the hospital that Carlisle works at.

"Hold your breath." I immediately say to Emmett, who is still vulnerable to the scent of human blood. We both stop dead in our tracks. "Stay here, I'll be right back." I run to the source of the smell and find the body of a young girl. Her body is greatly disfigured; I can tell most of her bones are broken. Her heart is still beating though. But very faintly. I know that if I don't do something fast, she'll die. I find her face and gasp, recognizing Sarah Pearce, Carlisle's intern.

I run back to Emmett. "Go tell Carlisle that…" I try to find the words to tell Carlisle that the girl he is so fond of is injured beyond repair. I just come out with the truth. "Tell him that Sarah is hurt, and to get ready, because I'm bringing her home."

Emmett's eyes widen in shock, but then he slowly nods and runs back towards the house.

I make my way back to Sarah. I gently lift her body off of the cold concrete and cradle her against me. She starts to move a little.

"Sarah, don't move, you'll hurt yourself.", I whisper to her as I start running. She seems to understand me, because she relaxes in my arms. I can barely make out her thoughts, they're so faint.

_I'm flying. I must be dead._

"You're not dead Sarah; you're going to live, okay?" I tell her, trying to keep her with me.

_An angel. It must be…_

"I'm not an angel, Sarah. It's me, Edward Cullen. Carlisle's son."

_Where are you taking me? _She thinks, but her thoughts are getting fainter.

"I'm taking you to Carlisle. He's going to help you, okay?"

_Okay…_

Wxwxwxwxwxwxwx

Carlisle POV

Edward and Emmett have only been gone for about ten minutes when Emmett rushes through the door, without Edward. Esme, Rosalie and I all look up from doing different things. I can read to distress on Emmett's face. I flit over to him.

"Emmett, what's wrong?" I ask. "Where's Edward?"

He takes a deep breath, not looking me in the eyes. "It's Sarah," he says. He looks up. "she's hurt."

"No." I say, shaking my head. "No." Esme walks over to me a wraps her arms around me. I look up at Emmett. "Edward?" I ask.

"He's bringing her. He said to get ready."

I know what I have to do."Ok, everyone outside. If there's blood, we don't need anything bad to happen." Everyone runs out the back door. They don't stop until they reach the woods behind our house. I slowly walk upstairs and take the sheets off of the guest bedroom bed. I bring my doctor's bag into the room, though I doubt I'll need it. If Sarah is so far gone that Edward is bringing her to me, then he must know that the only thing that can fix her is vampire venom. I sit down in a chair beside the bed and start sobbing because even though I thought of her like a daughter, I couldn't even imagine her actually becoming _my _daughter.

Wxwxwxxwxwxwxx

Edward reaches the house about ten minutes later. I meet him at the door and my eyes immediately fall on the crumpled heap that must be Sarah.

"How?" I ask as Edward follows me up to the bedroom.

"I don't know. We found her about half a mile from the hospital." Edward replies.

Edward gently lays her down on the bed. I lean over her and listen to her heart. Her heartbeat is almost at nothing. I stand back up. Edward looks at me. "Go." I tell him. He runs down the stairs.

I turn back to Sarah. She is completely unconscious. I know that if I don't act now, I could lose her.

I decide to act. Sarah is too good of a soul to waste. There's not enough time to give her morphine, but if I introduce the venom to more places, then the process might go faster. I start at her ankles, kissing each before I bite them. Sarah starts to twitch. She's coming back to us, but I know that she can't survive her wounds as a human.

I move on to her wrists, biting each carefully but forcefully. Sarah's face is scrunched up in pain. I move up to her neck.

"I'm so sorry." I whisper before I bite her. Her eyes flash open.

Wxwxwwxwxwxw

Edward POV

We have been standing outside for about two minutes when the screaming starts.

AN: I hope you like the story so far! Please review!


	6. Changing

Sarah POV

I was on fire. I only remember bits and pieces up to this point. Like being picked up and flying, and hearing Carlisle's voice before I was set on fire.

"Car…lisle…" I manage to whisper, before the fire takes over and I start screaming and thrashing, trying to get the fire off of me.

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Carlisle POV

I am sitting beside Sarah on the chair that I brought into the room. She takes a few shallow breaths as I watch her helplessly.

"Car…lisle…" , she says, and then starts screaming and squirming around. I hear her heart rate pick up. The venom has reached her heart.

"I'm here Sarah. Can you hear me?" I ask, trying to get her to focus on something other than the burn of the venom.

At first she doesn't seem to hear me, but then her horror-stricken eyes focus on me.

"What…happ…ened?" she says in a whisper.

"You were in an accident. Do you remember what happened?" I ask.

"Auto…mo…bile" She says rapidly.

"You were in an automobile accident?" I ask, but then remember that she didn't have a ride home tonight, their automobile had broken down again. Sarah had told me herself. "Or you got hit by a automobile?" I ask. Sarah nods her head in little jerks.

"Sarah, Edward found you and brought you here so that I could help you." I tell her.

Her face looks confused. "Fire…"

This is it. I have to tell her. "Sarah, I'm a vampire." Her wide eyes look up at me. "My whole family is. I bit you. It was the only way I could save you Sarah." She looks down, trying to comprehend what she had heard. She looks up at me and gives a single nod, as if giving me her approval, before she starts screaming and thrashing around again.

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Sarah POV

Carlisle sat with me like that for another day. He told me that it would be over in about a day. About this time though, I felt something rise up in me. It was only a feeling, but it made me feel like I could stop myself from moving, if I wanted to. I let it take over me. I stopped moving completely. I let myself breath and think, but not move. I could still feel the fire, though. Carlisle noticed immediately. He put his head on my chest and listened to my heart, which was beating faster and faster.

"Edward" he said in a regular toned voice. I wondered how Edward could hear him. Edward came into the room and walked over to me.

"What's wrong with her?" Carlisle asked in a worried tone. I wanted to tell him that nothing was wrong with me, but I was afraid that if I let myself speak, I would lose control and start screaming again.

"She says that she's fine, Carlisle. It appears that she's frozen herself" Edward told Carlisle.

How did he know what I was thinking? I wondered to myself.

"I can read minds Sarah." Edward said to me. "Some vampires have special abilities."

Wow, a mind-reading vampire? How much shock can a person go through in two days?

"Do you think that is her power, Edward" Carlisle asked.

"Yes, I do. I wonder if she will be able to freeze other people, too." Edward said. "I guess we'll find out soon enough."

Soon after that conversation, I noticed three things. First, I could see better. The room became clearer, more defined. I could see every piece of wood in the ceiling, every dust mote in the air. It made everything in my memories look dull in comparison. Second, I could hear better. I heard the conversations of the family outside; it was mostly just Edward filling the rest of the family in on what had happened to me. And third, I could think a lot better. It seemed that the space in my head grew enormously.

I kept myself frozen like that, and even though my body was completely still, my thoughts were all over the place. I thought of my parents quite a lot, wondering if they had done anything after I failed to come home. I thought of my brother and sister, hoping that they remember me since I can never see them again. Carlisle explained it to me, that I will be what they call a newborn for about a year, and all that I will want is blood. I will have to stay away from humans, because if I'm not careful, I could easily kill them. He told me not to worry, though, because the entire family will be there to help me. He told me that they aren't like other vampires, that they don't kill humans for blood. I'm grateful for that; I won't have to harm humans.

The fire slowly started to retreat from my fingers and toes, leaving coolness in its wake. But for every body part that the fire left, my heart got hotter. I started to lose control of keeping myself still. I started squirming, trying to hold on to my control. Carlisle was at once at my side.

"It's okay, Sarah, it's almost over." Carlisle told me. I took refuge in his words. The fire would be gone soon.

The fire in my heart got hotter and hotter. I could barely keep control of myself. My heart beat faster, until I couldn't tell one beat from another. I suddenly realized what Carlisle had meant on a deeper level. My heart and the fire were battling. But I knew that neither could win.

The fire surged through my heart, the only place in my body that it had not consumed. It suddenly died, the fire disappeared. My heart gave a final beat, and then stopped.

AN: Thank you for reading! Please Review!


	7. Discovery

Sarah POV

I feel weird, now that the fire is gone. I take a deep breath of relief, only to find that my lungs don't need the air anymore. They aren't waiting for it. I keep my focus on the ceiling above me, trying to arrange my thoughts.

"Sarah?" I heard Carlisle ask tentatively. I immediately sat up, without even thinking about it. It was like I didn't move. One moment I was laying down, the next I was sitting up.

"Sarah?" Carlisle repeated. I looked over at him. He didn't say anything else, his eyes locked on mine. He didn't even move.

"Interesting." Edward said. I looked over at him, but he was looking down at the ground. I noticed the others behind Carlisle and Edward, then. Carlisle's wife and the two other kids, Emmett and Rosalie. Carlisle started moving then, I also noticed.

"Sarah, will you close your eyes? It's okay, we won't harm you." Edward told me. I thought over that for a second, and then reluctantly closed my eyes.

"Edward, what just happened?" Carlisle asked.

"She froze you, Carlisle. Remember that we thought that it could be her power? She can freeze others, too. Hmmm, I wonder if she can freeze through touch too. Sarah, I'm going to touch your hand, okay? Don't freak out on me. Emmett, if I freeze, pull me away from her."

I felt a small pressure on my hand, followed by the sound of footsteps and the pressure being taken away. So, I _did_ freeze Edward by touching him.

"Are you okay?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes, but while I was frozen, I couldn't think, Carlisle. She froze my mind too." I had frozen his _mind_? How deep did my abilities go?

"Sarah," Edward told me, "You can open your eyes, but don't look anyone in the eyes, okay?"

"Okay" I replied, and then gasped at the sound of my voice. It sounded like bells. I recovered from the shock of my voice quickly, and then slowly opened my eyes. I looked blankly at the wall in front of me.

"Sarah, aren't you thirsty?" Carlisle asked me. I immediately noticed a scorching dryness in the back of my throat. Well, I was now, since he mentioned it. My hand flitted up to my throat.

"Edward, why don't you take her hunting?" Carlisle asked.

"Of course. Sarah, please follow me." Edward told me. I slid off the bed, still surprised at my speed, and followed Edward through a path made by the rest of the family. We walked down a short hallway toward the stairs. A full body mirror was pushed up against the wall. I glanced in it as we passed, but that one glance made me stop in my tracks. My skin was pale white and smooth as marble. My curly brown hair had grown halfway down my back and was incredibly shiny. My facial features looked like those on statues, perfectly formed. My face was still round, but it looked beautiful and in perfect balance with my other features. But what shocked me the most was my eyes. They were bright red.

Carlisle walked up behind me. "Don't worry. They'll change color over time. The animal blood dilutes the color quickly.", he assured me.

I took a deep breath, and turned away from my new self.


	8. Answers

Sarah POV

I followed Edward out the back door of the house and across the lawn. There were clouds overhead, and there wasn't much light filtering through, but I could see perfectly in the dim lit morning. Edward started running when we reached the tree line. I followed him, surprised yet again by my speed. I started giggling, loving the feeling I got when I ran, with the wind blowing my hair back and the coolness on my face.

We ran for about ten more minutes when Edward came to a stop and turned around. I quietly looked down at my feet.

"Okay, Sarah. I want you to open your senses to the wild. I want you to find an animal to feed on. Take a deep breath." Edward told me.

I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath through my nose. Edward must have stopped here because there was prey nearby, I realized. I smelled an almost-musty scent coming from some kind of animal nearby. It smelled bad, like smelling dirt. I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

"It does smell bad, but it's the best we've got." Edward told me. "It's a deer, Sarah. You'll have to make the most out of it."

I was about to go after the deer when a slightly sweeter smell assaulted my senses.

"What's that?" I asked Edward, already moving towards the new smell.

I heard Edward take a sniff behind me. "It's a bear." He answered.

"Can I hunt a bear?" I asked, not really caring what his answer was. The bear smelled good, certainly better than the deer did.

"Yes, you can." Edward said with a chuckle, probably hearing my thoughts. I smiled at his response, and instinctually sunk into a crouch. I silently made my way through the forest, following the bear's scent.

I came into a small clearing and saw the bear standing quietly in the middle. I was about to lunge for the pulsing warmth under the fur on the bear's neck when it lifted its head up and looked in my direction. I froze, standing there looking at the bear. The bear didn't move either.

I heard Edward come up behind me, but I didn't take my eyes off the bear. "You froze it, Sarah." He said cautiously.

I had _frozen_ the bear? I could freeze animals too? Was I able to look at _anything _without it freezing? I realized with a shock what this meant; if I couldn't learn to control my powers, I couldn't look at or touch any living thing ever again. What did that mean for me? Would I go insane from the lack of contact with people?

"Sarah?" Edward asked, hearing the terror in my thoughts. I didn't take my eyes off of the still-frozen bear. "You'll find a way to control it, Sarah. It won't be like this forever." Edward reassured me.

"Feed. You need it, Sarah." Edward reminded me. The dryness in my throat was now front-and-center in my mind. I mindlessly started walking towards the bear, the blood pumping through its veins drawing me to them like a beacon.

I reached the bear, my eyes not leaving it's for a second. I pondered what to do briefly before the throbbing in its neck distracted me again. I gently leaned towards the bear, my eyes not moving until I bit into the bear's neck and hungrily sucked all the blood out of its body while the bear put up a weak fight.

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I finished the bear off and slowly stood up. The bear had made me feel full, but the burn in my neck had only decreased a little.

"It's only because you're young." Edward replied to my thoughts. I whipped around to face him, forgetting that he had even been here in the whole of my meal. I suddenly remembered my ability, and looked down at my bare feet.

I gasped, realizing that most of me was covered in the bear's blood. My clothes had already been tattered by the car accident, but the fight with the bear had completely ruined my clothes. I wasn't even wearing shoes, which was weird, but maybe someone had taken them off during the change. I felt embarrassed standing like this out in the open.

"It's okay." Edward said. "There's a first for everything." I smiled sheepishly at him, still embarrassed.

Suddenly the clouds overhead opened up and a brilliant sun shone down on the small clearing that we were in. A flash of blinding light filled my eyes. I winced away from it.

"I see Carlisle didn't tell you everything about vampires during the change." Edward said. "Open your eyes, Sarah."

I opened my eyes again and the light again shone brightly in them. Only when I tried to figure out _where _the lights were coming from did I realize that the lights came from _me._

I gasped, examining my sparkling skin closer. It looked like tiny sparkling jewels almost, embedded in my skin. I looked over to Edward, who was still standing at the edge of the meadow, still under the cover of the trees. With my glance in his direction, he stepped out into the sunlight. Edward sparkled like me; his skin was all jewels too.

I stayed in the clearing admiring my sparkling skin until the sun went down. When the light finally faded, realization of how long we'd been gone hit me.

"Have we been out here all day?" I asked Edward, shocked.

"Yes." He answered with a small laugh. "I think you deserved a break, though. You've been through a lot in the past three days."

I realized I _had _been through a lot in the last three days. I had been in a life-changing car accident, learned about the existence of vampires, _became_ a vampire, and discovered that I had the ability to freeze someone just by looking them in the eye or touching them. That thought led me back to my parents. I wondered what they were doing about my disappearance. Were they looking for me? Were they in pain because I was gone? I had promised myself I would support them no matter what.

"Ready to go?" Edward said, suddenly pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah" I replied as we made our way out of the clearing and back through the forest towards the house. Edward made no move to start running, so I walked next him at the same pace. He must have known I had a lot on my mind, and needed time to think it out.

I had just begun to think about how I could help my family when Edward jumped in.

"We can find a way to help your family, Sarah. Give them money or help or whatever they need."

I looked up at him, shocked. They would help my family? They would really do that?

"Yes. You care about them a lot, Sarah. If you want, we can leave enough money to do more than get by on." Edward answered.

We walked in silence for a few minutes until a hope suddenly arose in me.

"Will I be able to see them – you know, get the money. See them be happy with the gift?" The idea of watching my parents be so happy was a wonderful idea to me. It would make my day to see them happier than they had been in years. I wonder how they would spend the money. They should definitely buy a new car, that was for sure. Maybe they could get my sister that doll that she wanted, or my brother the toy truck he had asked for. Or even better, both.

I looked up at Edward, expecting him to be smiling too, but his face fell. "Sarah, I don't think that would be a good idea. You're still young, for one. You could hurt them." I realized that he was right. I could easily kill my parents. "Sarah, I'm afraid we'll have to move soon."

I stopped. "What?"

Edward stopped beside me. "We've already stayed too long here. People are starting to notice that we don't age. Plus, with you being new and all, it would be best if we kept you away from people until you can control your thirst."

We both started walking again, but in silence. Edward was right, it was best that I be kept away from humans until I wasn't so _new_.

We got within thirty feet of the tree line across the yard from the house when Edward made me stop.

"Wait here." He whispered to me.

"Why?" I whispered back.

"The police are here. They're interviewing Carlisle about your disappearance.


	9. Adjustments

Sarah POV

"They're interviewing Carlisle about _me_? I asked Edward.

"Well, yeah." Edward told me. "You've been gone for three days. Wouldn't you expect that _someone _would notice that you're gone?"

"Yeah. I guess so." I answered. I wondered how my parents took my disappearance. How were they? Were they mourning me? I hoped not. If only they knew the truth…

"You know why they can't know that, Sarah." Edward told me, commentating on my thoughts.

"Yeah, I know."

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After about fifteen more minutes, we watched the police automobile pull away from the house. Edward gestured for me to follow him back to the house. We made our way across the yard and through the back door. The rest of the family was in the living room, everyone was sitting down except for Carlisle, who was still at the front door from seeing the police officer out. When Edward and I walked I, both Esme and Rosalie turned and gasped at me. I looked down to see my torn and bloody clothes.

Carlisle flitted over. "Esme, Rosalie, why don't you take Sarah upstairs to find some new clothes?"

"Of course." Esme said, and smiled at me. I smiled back but kept my gaze on the floor. I follow her up the stairs and down the hallway. On the way down, we pass the room that I was changed in. The room has been converted back to normal. All the evidence that I practically died in the room has been removed. As if I was never even there, I think to myself. As far as the police know, I wasn't.

I keep following Esme and Rosalie to a room at the end of the hallway. In the room there is a beautiful wrought iron bed with a purple bedspread. A wide window is on the wall opposite the door. A vanity that looks like it is made of the same wrought iron as the bed. Pictures of flowers line the walls.

"Is this your room?" I ask Rosalie.

She glances back at me. "Yes. Do you like it?"

"Yes. It's very beautiful – I love the colors." I tell her.

She smiles at me. "Thank you."

Rosalie walks over to a door that must be the closet. She reaches inside and brings out a large, cream-colored bag.

Esme walks over behind me. "Carlisle told me that you might need new clothes, so Rosalie and I went out and bought you some. We tried to find something that you would like, based on what Carlisle told us about you."

"Thank you. I'm sure I'll like whatever you got me. It was very kind of you." I say.

Rosalie reaches into the bag and pulls out a light green sundress. The dress has lace frills and sleeves that go hallway down the arms. Sure, it's not what I would wear if I had a choice, if it was up to me I would wear my woven nightgown that my mother had made for me, but it's a lot better than what I have on.

Rosalie hands me the dress, being very careful not to touch me, I notice, and Esme leads me down the hall to a small powder room to change into the dress. I quietly slip out of my tattered clothes and pull on the dress. I don't know what to do with my old clothes, so I carry them out into the hallway. Esme smiles and reaches out her hand, I drop the clothes into her hand. She flits away with them, and before I know it she is back.

"Should we go back down, now?" she asks me. I quietly nod and follow her back down the stairs. As we walk down, I notice all the boys looking up at me. I keep looking at me feet, embarrassed by all the attention. I notice Rosalie has already come down, and is sitting casually on the couch.

Carlisle gestures to a single seat opposite the couch and I gladly take it. The rest of the family spreads out, taking up the other seats. Emmett takes a seat beside Rosalie and wraps his arm around her. For a moment I am jealous for them, that they are able to touch each other so freely without having limitations placed on them, but then I regain control of my thoughts and look away from them, to where Carlisle is sitting on one of the loveseats with Esme. I glance over at Edward, who is sitting on the other single seat next to me.

"So, what did the police say?" I ask curiously, trying to break the silence. Everyone looked at me, I looked at my hands in my lap.

"He just asked the basic questions and asked to search the house for legal reasons." Carlisle answered.

"And of course they found nothing." Emmett said sarcastically.

"Of course…" Edward repeated quietly.

A thought occurred to me. "Did they say anything about my parents?" Ever since the accident I had been wondering what my parents had done about my disappearance.

"Yes, I asked about them. The officer said that when you didn't come home they called the hospital, and when you weren't there, they called 911. The police stations have sent out search parties to look for you." Carlisle explained.

Wow. That much, for _me_? Search parties? I hoped my parents were okay. They must be worried sick.

Edward, for the millionth time today, brought me out of my wondering.

"So, what now?"

"I don't know. I guess we just wait it out and see what happens. We can't leave now, that would cause suspicion. I think that we should wait until this whole ordeal is over, then leave for some other place, preferably remote until Sarah passes up her newborn years, and start over." Carlisle said.

As all of this was being said, I glanced out of the back window, towards the full moon, and thought about my uncertain future.


	10. Moving On

Sarah POV

Weeks passed. I watched as the search efforts for me slowly dissolved until they were nothing. They had given up on me. They knew I wasn't coming back. My parents still had hope, though. They never gave up. They kept looking for me, praying that I would come home. But to everyone else, I was a lost cause.

0000000

I took one last look at the house and turned away. It had been five weeks since my disappearance, and the search efforts were called off and I was officially declared dead. The news was taken gladly with my new family, we were moving to a cabin nestled in the forests of northern Montana, far away from any human contact, so that I could learn to control my thirst.

"Sarah, come on!" Emmett called to me. I ran over to the family's two automobiles and climbed into the open door Edward was holding for me. Before he closed my door, he smiled at me.

"I've got a surprise for you, Sarah. But I can't tell you, you'll have to see for yourself." I wrinkled my forehead in concentration, but kept my gaze on the floor of the automobile. What could Edward possibly surprise me with?

"Can't tell. It would ruin the surprise." Edward said as he climbed into the front seat of the automobile. The automobile that Edward and I were riding in had all of our things in it. The rest of the family was riding in the other car. I liked it like that. It meant less chances of me freezing somebody. So far, I had been able to keep my powers from affecting anyone since my first day as a vampire, except once, and then I only accidentally froze Emmett.

Edward pulled out of the driveway and onto the road as I watched the house disappear into the forest. I noticed that we were driving towards town, not north like we should have been.

"Where are we going?" I asked Edward.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out." He said with a smirk. I stared at the side of his face with confusion.

Then I noticed the street that we were driving down. _My_ street. Well, my old one anyways. Then I knew what Edward's surprise was. He was going to let me see my family one last time.

"Exactly." He said.

I gasped when I saw them. My mother and father were working on the garden, preparing the plants for the winter frost. Surprisingly, they looked almost happy. With my incredible eyesight, I could see that the small bit of sadness that still remained from losing their daughter was almost covered up. They must have been doing it for my brother and sister, who were happily playing in the yard. I sighed. I knew everything would be okay now, that they could move on.

I watched as the house passed by and disappeared from view. I turn back to Edward. "Thank you. That is the best surprise anyone could ever give me." I paused, thinking over the scene, trying to cement it into my brain, so I would never lose it. "When will you bring them the money?" I asked. Ever since Edward had promised he would help my family, I wondered _when_ exactly that would happen.

"I don't know yet. I know you want to deliver the money yourself, and if that is what happens, we'll have to wait a year or two for you to control your thirst." He was right; I did want to deliver the money myself. I wanted to be the one who saw my parent's reaction to the gift. But to do that would take time and patience. Lots of patience.

00000000

We drove as far north as the roads would allow, then continued with our belongings on foot. We wove through the trees for about fifteen miles. I was so consumed by the beautiful mountains across the ridge from us that I didn't notice that we had stopped until the absence of footsteps suddenly hit me and I looked up to see that the rest of the family had stopped moving. I slowed to a stop behind Edward.

"Why did we stop?" I ask curiously.

"Because we're here." He says with a small laugh.

We're here? I don't see anything. I peer around Edward to see what's in front of us, and notice that over a small hill ahead of us that I can see the roof of a small wooden structure. We all continue over the hill, and I get the full impact of the beauty of the cabin.

The cabin is nestled in a small clearing in the immense forest. The cabin is two stories tall, with huge windows that surround the house. Even with the windows, the cabin looks natural, almost as if it grew out of the ground.

"We found the cabin about ten years ago on a hunting trip." Edward says to me. "Esme worked on it as a project and completely renovated it."

"It's beautiful." I say to Esme, who beams at me.

We walk on down to the cabin, and we push through the door into an open room that transcends both floors. Hanging from the roof is an elegantly designed crystal chandelier. There are also chairs and a couch in the room, and Rosalie and Esme are already taking the plastic protectors off of them.

I set the luggage that I am carrying down and walk around the room. I notice that the main room opens up to a small kitchen, which makes me wonder why we need it. My brow wrinkles in confusion.

Carlisle walks up behind me. He must notice my confused expression. "It was already here, so Esme went ahead and renovated it too." He smiles at his wife, and turns his attention back to me. "Come with me, please, I want to show you something."

I follow Carlisle up the stairs and around the opening into the room below. Carlisle leads me down a back hallway that ends in one of the huge windows that I saw from outside. Carlisle stops at the last door at the end of the hallway.

"When we renovated the cabin, there were only the three of us, so there were a lot more rooms than we needed. Esme decided to take up art and design, so we renovated this room into her studio. I told her how you always wanted to be active and do hands-on projects, and she told me to give you this room." He said with a loving smile.

"Wow," I say, stunned. I really did owe Esme something now. She deserved it from me. But I would have my very own art studio? It was one of the secret interests that I had never told anyone. I was too worried about my family to think about hobbies other than the ones that would help me provide for the rest of my family.

"Tell her I said thank you." Carlisle quietly said 'of course' and flitted of to another part of the house. I stood and looked at the door for a minute or two, the thought of my parents bringing back the events that had gotten me here.

I shook my head to get rid of the thoughts. I needed to stop thinking about the past. I couldn't focus on what had happened, it was already over.

I took a deep breath and quietly opened the door to my room. What didn't surprise me was that it was absolutely beautiful. I practically adored Esme now for her sense of style. The room was a pale blue color, with deep brown trees swirling their way up the walls. There were shelves built into the wall, each containing some kind of art material. Dozens of brushes paints, acrylics and oils, canvases of all shapes and sizes, and tons of other things lined up along the shelves. But one of my favorite things in the room was not the art supplies, but the beautifully carved window seat that looked out on the mountains I had been fascinated with earlier.

I smiled to myself, and thinking quietly that everything would finally be okay, took up a paintbrush and started to move on.


	11. Broken

Sarah POV

We lived in the cabin peacefully for three years. I was glad when my bright red eyes were replaced with brilliant golden ones. I learned quickly to keep my powers to myself by looking up or down whenever I talked to anyone. The effort killed me, though, not being able to look at anyone knowing that if I did they would freeze. It killed Carlisle the most, though. He thought that it was his fault, somehow, because he was the one who changed me. I overheard Edward talking to him one night, reassuring him that nobody could've predicted that I would have these powers. I agreed with him.

I stayed in my studio as much as possible, trying to avoid contact with anyone. I painted hundreds pictures; Esme even hung some around the house. But I knew that the seclusion wasn't helping me any, it was only making my powers get to me even more. I felt separated from everybody, cut off from the world, just floating in space. I knew that my façade was slowly crumbling beneath me, the lack of comfort that I so desperately needed was causing me to sink to rock bottom, and I knew I couldn't stay afloat for long.

000000000

I was a hunting trip that finally broke me.

Me, Edward and Emmett had gone on a regular hunting trip in our usual spot. As we ran silently through the forest, I again felt the flying sensation that I usually got when I was running. It made me feel free, even though I knew that I was chained down in one way or another.

I smelt a small herd ahead of us, and it appeared that the boys did too, and we all stopped. I silently sunk into a crouch, letting my instincts take over me. I crept around the last tree that separated me from the deer. I singled out the largest of the herd, and focused on his jugular vein, a pulsing fountain in his neck.

I always tried _not _to make eye contact with my prey; it gave me a bad feeling whenever I killed an animal that was frozen beneath my grasp. But today, as I slowly stalked towards my prey, focusing on its neck instead of its eyes, the deer looked up and its eyes blocked my view of its neck.

The deer froze.

I froze.

I realized what was causing the bad feeling I had when I froze my prey. I was taking its _hope _away. Before I froze it, it at least had a _hope _of surviving. I was giving it no _hope_. When I froze something, anything, I was giving it no other options. If I was on good terms with the thing I froze, they just had to wait until I choose to unfreeze them. But what if I was on bad terms? What was their options then? Wait to _die_?

I stumbled back, pulling my eyes away from the deer. It took off, but I didn't care.

"What happened!" Emmett yelled at Edward. I spun to face them, but instead of explaining myself, I took off back towards the house thinking "_You know what happened, Edward."_

I didn't stop running until I got to the house. I ran up to my studio, and locked my door before anyone could react to my strange behavior. I ran over to the window seat and sat still, terrified to move. I ignored Carlisle when he knocked on my door, saying "Sarah, what happened?" I didn't answer.

Edward and Emmett must have gotten home then, because I heard Edward quietly call Carlisle downstairs. I knew that he was telling Carlisle everything, but I didn't move. I didn't care anymore. How was I going to live with this, this _curse_? I couldn't possibly call it an ability anymore.

I sat there, never moving once. I heard someone coming up the stairs. I wondered for a moment why I even bothered to lock the door. Any one of my family could've easily knocked down the door. But then I realized, I didn't care. The footsteps stopped outside the door.

"Sarah, I know that you've realized it, and I'm willing to give you all the time that you need to think it over. When you're ready, I'll help you learn to control it." The voice, that I now realized was Edward's –big surprise- said. His footsteps retreated down the stairs.

0000000

I didn't move for the next three days. I was still stunted by my realization and what Edward had said. Would I really be able to control it? _Could _it be controlled? I tried not to think about it much, instead focusing on the view of the mountains outside of my window.

00000000

Edward POV

"Edward, can we speak outside for a minute?" Carlisle said, standing in front of the rest of the family. I took time to notice the others before I stood up from the couch where I was sitting. Emmett looked confused. Esme looked concerned. Rosalie looked indifferent, and Carlisle looked hurt. I had already told them what had happened to Sarah. They all appeared to be taking it differently.

I stood up and followed them outside. We ran across the yard and into the forest where I knew that Sarah couldn't hear. We stopped in a little clearing about two miles away from the house.

"So, what do we do now?" Esme asked cautiously.

"I don't know." Carlisle said absently mindedly.

I look up. "She needs to learn to control her powers."

"Yeah, and how exactly do we do that?" Emmett questioned.

"We help her." I say. "I will, I'll be able to read her mind and see how close she is to controlling her abilities."

"I'll help too." Emmett said sarcastically. "Maybe I could be a test subject, or something." Rosalie looked annoyed at his comment, but he didn't notice.

"When do you want to start?" Carlisle questioned.

"You and the others can go hunting all day tomorrow so that it will just be us three." I suggested.

"That sounds good. Tomorrow." Carlisle said, nodding his head.

"So it's set." Emmett said. "Tomorrows the day we get Sarah out of her room."

0000000000000000

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I know that the whole "taking away the hope" thing sounds really corny, but it was the only way that I could put it that sounded right.


	12. Control

Sarah POV

I sat there for what seemed like forever, even though I knew that it had only been three days. _The irony,_ I thought to myself, _I've been sitting here for the same amount of time it took me to transform._

I shook off the thought. My transformation had caused me to be where I was now: separated from everyone else by an invisible barrier that I had no control over.

_Or did I?_ I thought. Edward told me he would help me control it when I was ready. Did he see something inside me that I couldn't? But was I ready? I didn't know.

000000

They came for me soon after that. I heard Emmett's heavy footsteps clomping up the stairs. I stayed where I was.

"Sarah!" Emmett called to me.

"Emmett!" Edward hissed. "Don't be like that. Sarah." He said calmer, "Are you ready?"

_I don't know,_ I thought towards him. _I don't feel ready._

"I know that you are." Edward said gently. "The others have gone hunting. It's just us here, so that you can learn to control your powers."

The others had gone hunting just so that I could learn to control my powers? They were willing to leave just so that I wouldn't be under pressure? Wow.

"Please come out." Edward pleaded.

I smiled for the first time in three days. Maybe my powers weren't a curse after all. If Edward thought that I could control my powers, maybe I could use them to help others, in some way.

"You can," Edward said, commenting on my thoughts. He chuckled. "But you have to come out, first."

I left behind the mountain view that I had looked at for the last three days and flitted to the door. I pulled it open to Edward's grinning face. I didn't meet his golden eyes, still afraid of my powers.

"Finally" Emmett sighed. I rolled my eyes at him.

"So," I said, speaking my first words in three days, "When do we start?"

"Right now if you want." Edward said.

"Please." I sighed.

000000

I followed Edward outside, his "Training Ground", I guess. He turned towards me.

"Ok, so Emmett will stand over there and I will stand behind you. You can try to pull your powers back, and I will help you gauge whether or not your powers aren't, _active_, I guess you might call it." He smiled down at me while Emmett ran over to the other side of the yard. "I know that you can do this, Sarah. I believe in you."

I turned around to face Emmett. He was standing roughly 20 feet away from me, an easy distance to look him in the eyes.

"Why don't you close your eyes and try to concentrate on reining in control over your powers." Edward suggested from somewhere behind me. I obliged and closed my eyes, concentrating on the edges of my body, which seemed like where my powers ended.

I focused on pulling the edges of my control back. It felt as if I were stretching a rubber band, with every pull the band pulled tighter and tighter.

"That's it, Sarah! You're doing it!" Edward encouraged me. I pulled my control back even farther. "Open your eyes, Sarah! Hurry! Look at Emmett!"

I opened my eyes, still pulling on the rubber band. I looked Emmett dead in the eyes, and he grinned back at me, bouncing from one foot to the other.

I had done it! I couldn't believe it! I didn't freeze Emmett! A burst of laughter escaped me. I felt happier now than I had in a long time. I felt relieved.

That relief only lasted a couple of seconds, though. With my loss of concentration, my control snapped back into place and Emmett froze where he stood. I quickly dropped my gaze, feeling bad that I couldn't keep my control longer.

Edward walked up to me. "Why are you feeling sorry? You did it Sarah, you had control! Just think, a few more tries, and you might be able to have control over your powers without even thinking about it!"

I started to get a little excited, then. What if it was like Edward said and I could control my powers without thinking about it!

"Just think of the possibilities!" Edward exclaimed, murmuring to himself. He turned to me. "What if, you could freeze people without touching them or looking at them?"

"Like, sensing them and freezing them?" I asked.

"Exactly!" Edward said. "Like, feeling where they are with your powers and freezing them."

"That would be neat. Are we going try it today?" I questioned, wondering how far Edward was going to push me today.

"No, not today. We should probably just stick to keeping control over eye-contact for now." Edward said.

I thought for a second before a thought hit me. "What about touch? Could we try that?" I ask Edward.

"Sure, it sounds good. Emmett!" Edward called. Emmett looked up questioningly. "Are you up for one more test?"

"Sure" Said Emmett with a smirk.

Emmett flitted over to where I was standing and held his hand out. Again I closed my eyes and focused on pulling back my control. Inch by inch, my control stretched back. When I felt like I was safe, I quickly opened my eyes and touched Emmett's palm. I cautiously glanced up at him. He was grinning like a fool. I grinned back.

"Now try to keep that control for as long as you can, Sarah." Edward told me.

I kept my control stretched back for longer and longer, and the longer I held it back, the easier it got.

"Sarah, this is amazing!" Edward exclaimed.

I finally released Emmett's hand, and felt my powers glide back into place. It seemed that the more that I practiced my control, the easier it got. Edward was right; that I might not even have to think about having to hold it back someday.

"Just wait until Carlisle finds out!" I exclaim. I knew that this hurt Carlisle the most, me being so separated from everyone else. I knew that he would be the happiest in the family, and I couldn't wait to see his reaction. So together we talked and chatted, waiting for the rest of the family to come home.


	13. Family

The family arrived later that night. Edward, Emmett, and I had gone inside and were sitting quietly. Emmett and Edward were playing a board game, I was reading a book.

I heard the family when they were about half a mile from the house. I look up at Edward, grinning. He smiles back. He knew how incredibly excited I was. I met his eyes, pushing my control back. If I could've smiled any bigger, I did.

Our plan was to play everything normal, then surprise the family when they least expected it. I looked down at my book again, barely containing myself.

The family entered through the back door. Edward and Emmett looked up. I kept my head down, playing into the façade.

"How was your day? "Carlisle asked.

"Great" Emmett said. He would've said it anyways; every day is a great day for him.

"Alright." Edward said.

"It was okay, I guess." I say quietly.

"Wonderful. I'm glad you had a good time." Carlisle replied.

The family dispersed after that. Emmett and Rosalie went up to their room, Esme went up to her room, and Carlisle went up to his office. Only Edward and I were left downstairs. I looked up at him. He was smiling at me.

I stood up. _Well, here I go,_ I thought to him.

"Good luck." He whispered, so low only I could hear.

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I walked slowly up to Carlisle's office, trying to make this moment count. I tested my control, and was surprised to find how easy it was to pull it back.

I arrived at Carlisle's office, and gently tap on the door.

"Come in." I hear Carlisle reply, and I am reminded of the first time that we met in the hospital three years ago.

I push open the door to find Carlisle reading a book at his desk. "Hello Sarah." He says, not looking up from his book_. He must have gotten used to not looking at me because of my powers, _I think, _that's about to change._

"Carlisle." I say slowly, following his eyes.

"Yes, Sarah?" He says, not looking up from his book.

I giggle. "Carlisle." I say more insistently.

This time he looks up. I meet his eyes and grin. He stares back at me, shocked.

"But…how?" He asks, holding my eyes.

"I learned." I say, feeling relief wash over me.

Carlisle starts to laugh. He blurs over to me and picks me up and spins me around. He sets me down and hugs me.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that." He whispers, sighing. I can tell that he is as relieved as I am.

"Me either." I whisper back.

00000000

A while later, Carlisle lets me go. He was grinning as big as the sun. "Let's go show the others." He says. He took my hand and led me down the hallway towards the stairs.

Edward must have known what Carlisle was thinking, because when we walked down the stairs, the rest of the family was in the living room.

Carlisle and I made our way down the stairs, the rest of the family looking at us curiously. I glanced up at Edward; he smiled and winked at me.

I looked up at the rest of the family, and finally Esme noticed that I was looking them in the eyes.

"Oh!" She gasped, and ran over to hug me. I giggled.

"Oh, Sarah! This is wonderful!" She exclaimed as she kissed my forehead.

"Hey little sis!" Emmett called. He charged towards me and picked me up, throwing me into the air. I laughed.

He set me back down and walked back over to Rosalie, who was shyly smiling at me. I hoped that she liked me now, at the least. Before it seemed like she couldn't stand to be around me. I wonder why.

Carlisle took my hand again and gestured to the couch where Edward was sitting. I sat down in between Edward and Carlisle leaned my head on Edward's shoulder, finding comfort in all of the contact that I had missed in the last three years.

Everyone sat down, and I let Edward explain what we had accomplished; because I was so caught up in the feel of everything - of everybody – and I loved it.

I finally felt like part of the family, like I was home.

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter! Please forgive me! 3**


	14. The Letter

Sarah POV

The next few years were absolutely amazing. I cherished every touch that I received, and often found myself absently stroking someone's arm while I was doing something. They didn't seem to mind, they knew what I had been through.

Everything seemed normal, at least until the summer of 1946, when the letter arrived.

All of us had been out hunting, it was one of our "family outings" as we called them, and everyone had gone. When we came back, the letter was sitting innocently on the front porch.

We all stopped. Everyone took a nervous glance at each other, and then Carlisle walked forward and picked up the letter. Before he even read the outside, he held it up to his nose and took a cautious sniff. Edward hissed.

"What?" Emmett demanded.

"See for yourself." Edward said quietly. Carlisle read the letter quietly, and then passed it around the circle. When the letter came to me, I sniffed it before I looked at who it was from. It had a musty smell to it, almost like dust. Weird.

I turned the letter over. It was addressed to Carlisle Cullen. The name was written in elegant handwriting that must've taken years to perfect. That was the only thing that it said. I turned it back over just to check if that was all of the writing on the letter. I found nothing.

I passed it on around the circle, watching as the rest of the family read the letter. It finally came back to Carlisle. He looked down at the letter, and then back up at us.

"Why don't we go inside?" He said quietly. He turned and walked into the house. We all followed him in, and I watched him carefully as he sat down, wondering what significance this letter had, and why Edward had had such a negative reaction to it.

Everybody stayed silent for a while. I finally broke it. "Why is this letter so important?" I asked.

Edward looked up at me. "The letter is from the Volturi, Sarah." He said quietly, as everything had been since we received the letter.

"The _who_?" I asked, without a clue who Edward was talking about.

"I sorry Sarah," Carlisle said, running his fingers through his hair nervously. "I can't believe we didn't tell you about them sooner. The Volturi are a group of vampires who, in the world of the supernatural, are considered royalty."

"Royalty?" I asked, curious.

"Yes, like the lawmakers of the vampire world." Carlisle replied, looking up at me.

"So…," I pondered, thinking hard. "Wait, there are rules in the vampire world?"

"Well," Edward said "Basically one rule that branches out into multiple rules."

"And it would be…" I urged, hating the suspense.

"Don't tell the secret." Edward replied, looking off into space.

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They told me everything about the Volturi, everything they thought that I needed to know. I learned about the members of the Volturi Guard, about all of their abilities, and who to watch out for. But the thing that scared me the most was the powers of the leader, Aro. He could read every thought you ever had. That really scared me.

They told me all this before we opened the letter, and I was beginning to feel anxious about they could've possibly sent us.

Edward must have sensed my unease. "We should open it." He said to Carlisle.

We all looked up at Carlisle, who was flipping the letter around and around in his hands.

"Very well then." He said with a sigh. He opened the letter with a careful hand, delicately tearing the seal on the envelope. He pulled out a small slip of paper that I could tell was written in the same beautiful handwriting as on the front of the envelope.

Carlisle read it and gasped, then looked at Edward. Edward looked frustrated; he kept his gaze down as everyone looked at him.

Carlisle continued to pass the letter around in the same manner that we used outside with the envelope. Everyone read it, except for Edward, who I knew was reading it in everyone's head. Finally the letter came to me.

_Dear Carlisle, _

_It is a pleasure to write to you again, and I hope that you are doing well. It seems so long since we last saw each other._

_I pray that you will visit me and my brothers soon; we all crave your company._

_Also, I have heard that you have recently added a new addition to your coven, and it would be my pleasure if she were to join you on your visit._

_Aro_

I gasped. Aro wanted to see _me_? Why? How did he know about me? Would he read my thoughts? Would he force me onto his guard? The family explained that Aro collected gifted vampires, would he want me?

"I won't let them take you." Edward said. "Aro is usually pretty lenient, he might let you choose, _if _he even wants you, and hopefully he won't." I looked up. Everyone was looking at me.

"You have to be careful, though." Edward continued. "Chelsea, a member of the guard, can break bonds between people. She's always with Aro. And try to stay on his good side. He usually seems nice, but if you get on his bad side…" Edward drifted off, shaking his head.

All the time I was making a mental list of things to not do: Watch out for the guard. Stay bonded to your family. Stay on Aro's good side.

I looked around at my family, and for the first time since I became a vampire, I was afraid.

"Don't be afraid" Edward said, reading my thoughts. "Stay confident. If you're afraid, don't let it show."

Add that to my list: Don't be afraid.

"You can do this Sarah. I know that you can." Edward said. I looked around at my family again, and my eyes landed on Carlisle.

It appeared that we would be making a trip to Italy soon.


	15. Journey

Sarah POV

Carlisle and I waved to the rest of the family as we walked away from the house and towards the trail that led us to our automobiles. I guess neither of us knew if we would see them again or not. Carlisle said that Aro was usually generous, and that he was probably curious about me. But one thing still bothered me.

"How does he know about me?" I asked quietly. "I mean, I've never met him."

"Maybe it was a nomad passing through." Carlisle suggested. "Maybe they saw you, and didn't think much of it, and went for a visit with the Volturi. Then Aro read his thoughts, and saw you."

"Oh." I said. I hadn't thought of that.

We'd reached our cars, and loaded our few belongings into the back. We really didn't need them, they were just for show. We had to take a boat over to Spain –just another useless thing that I thought we could do without—and then we would ride a passenger train the rest of the way to Italy. I had asked Carlisle why we had to do it, he had replied by saying that we had to keep up with human appearances.

That was another thing that I was worried about. I had long since outgrown my newborn stage – Carlisle even said that we could move to a more populated area soon—but I was still concerned that I hadn't been around humans since my transformation. Even though the entire family had reassured me that I would be okay, I was still scared that I would lose control.

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We stepped off of the train at our station in Italy and Carlisle took my hand. It had already been a long journey, and to a degree I felt proud of myself. I had been around people the whole trip, and I was beginning to trust myself. I was still tempted by their blood—which smelled absolutely wonderful compared to the bland animal blood that I was used to—but I was able to resist, and for that I was proud of myself. I had also noticed how people looked at me—like I was the most incredible thing that they had ever seen. Carlisle told me that vampires looked very beautiful and that people would stare, but I was still uncomfortable with all of the attention. I had never been the prettiest when I was human, and I wasn't accustomed to the attention.

I stepped off the platform and looked up at the city of Volterra. It was a beautiful city, filled with old styled castle walls that reminded me of fairy tales. Giant turrets rose out of the walls, and if I didn't know the real reason that we were here, I might have even used the word _inviting_ to describe it.

Carlisle and I walk hand in hand into the city. I look up, and say a silent thank you that it is overcast today. If it had been sunny we would've had to wait even longer to come, and that would just add to my anxiety.

Through all of my thinking, we walk past little merchant stands full of souvenirs for the Saint Marcus day celebration. Carlisle told me that the holiday was based off of the Marcus in the Volturi, something that I hadn't considered. I thought that it was strange walking past fake vampire fangs that all of the people carelessly put on, and they didn't even know that they were surrounded by _actual _vampires.

We keep walking through the narrow streets towards the main square that held the entrance to the Volturi caverns. I held tight onto Carlisle's hand as he led me through the large crowd. I held my breath, trying to not lose control.

We finally reached the Main Square and huge, open place with an elegantly carved fountain in the middle and a giant clock tower on one side. Hundreds of tourists filled the square, and I tried to focus on the ground as we weaved our way through the crowd.

We reached the far side of the square and Carlisle pulled me over to a small alleyway that no one was in. I let out my breath, glad for the seclusion. Carlisle turned to me.

"Felix and Jane are supposed to meet us here." He said.

Although I didn't mean to, I cringed. The family had told me about the Volturi guard's powers, but Jane scared me the most. Something about having the power to inflict pain on people greatly unsettled me.

"Hey," Carlisle told me. "It'll be okay. Just do what they say, and it'll all be over soon."

I nodded, and then turned to watch the festivities, lost in thought.

Soon, Carlisle nudged ma and I turned around. Walking – no, more like floating – down the other end of the alley were two figures clothed in dark robes. One was very small, – tiny in comparison to the hulking figure beside them – and I assumed them to be Jane. The other was very tall and had a muscular build; Felix looked exactly as the others had described him.

They reached us, and Carlisle began introductions. I smiled politely at each of them, but I couldn't escape Jane's scornful glare directed at me. It made Rosalie look like an angel in comparison.

After we were done introducing ourselves, Jane and Felix led us down the alleyway in the opposite direction and around a corner that led to a dead end. I was about to ask Carlisle where they were taking us when Felix leaned over a sewage covering and lifted it with ease.

They each dropped into the hole, and were then followed by Carlisle. After taking one last look at the daylight, I dropped in after him.

We followed Jane and Felix through the passageways under Volterra, and I absently wondered how far underground we were.

Suddenly the tunnel opened up and I found myself in a small room with a small reception area and, off to one side, a mechanical elevator. As we passed the reception desk, a young girl peeked over the top of the desk and gave me a shy smile. With a shock I realized that she was human. I knew that now wasn't the time to ask, but I would be sure to ask someone later what she was doing here, surrounded by vampires.

We all loaded into the elevator and Felix pressed a button with a downward facing arrow on it. The elevator started to descend and I lowered my gaze, almost feeling Jane's glare on me.

After what seemed like ages, the elevator screeched to a halt and the doors slowly opened. I silently followed Carlisle out, and into another room with a huge door on the wall opposite the elevator. The door was carved with amazing scenes of war and death, and I shivered inside wondering where they had gotten those scenes from.

I didn't have much time to think though, because Felix pushed the giant doors open with ease and I came face to face with the leaders of the Volturi.


	16. Visit

**A/N: Before I start writing, I would really like to take some time and thank all of you who have read this story and reviewed. Second, I would like to specifically thank Kaitlyn Winchester, who has always supported my stories and has encouraged me to continue writing. **

**I also want to dedicate this chapter to Cinderfire16, who sort of inspired this chapter. **

**Thank you so much, and please review! **

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Sarah POV

Holding tightly onto Carlisle's arm, I took a cautious step forward into the throne room of the Volturi leaders. The first person that I noticed was Aro, who was standing in the center of the room. He had long black hair and was smiling sweetly down at me. I internally shivered.

The next person that I saw was Marcus, who was sitting on the throne on the far left. He looked incredibly bored and depressed. He, like Aro, also had long black hair.

The only other leader was Caius, who was sitting on the throne to the right. He had pale white hair and was glaring down at Carlisle and I with a look that could match Jane's.

I didn't have much time to size up the leaders, though, because as soon as I walked into the room, both Aro and Marcus gasped. I looked up at Carlisle to see if he knew what was going on, but his expression was unreadable.

I turned back to the leaders but by that time Aro had regained control of his emotions. Marcus, however, was still leaning forward in his seat, gaping at me. I looked away from him, and up at Carlisle.

"My old friend," Aro said, addressing Carlisle "How are you?"

"Fine, thank you." Carlisle replied, giving a small smile.

"Wonderful. Just wonderful." Aro replied. "And," He said, turning to me, ", I can see that you've added another member to your coven. How nice." Aro extended his hand. I looked up at Carlisle for guidance, knowing what Aro's power was. He smiled at me, and gave a small nod. I slowly placed my hand in Aro's.

I didn't feel different; I didn't really feel anything at all. The only sign that anything besides a greeting was happening between the two of us was that Aro had his head tilted back in concentration with his eyes closed. I watched him quietly, knowing that he was pilfering through my thoughts.

He finally opened his eyes, and gazed in awe at me.

"I had no idea that you possessed a power such as that, Sarah." He stated. "Just imagine, brothers," He said, turning to face the other leaders. I looked back up at Carlisle, who was looking absently at Aro. "The power to freeze anyone, or anything, simply by looking at them or through touch!" Aro continued. "Such a wonderful power that this child possesses!"

Marcus leaned even more forward in his chair, and Caius sat up straight, both of them looking amazed at me.

Aro had turned back to Carlisle. "My dear friend, you did not tell me that your new member possessed such power!" He said with excitement.

"Forgive me, old friend," Carlisle said calmly. "I have not had time to write you. It has been a while since we have talked."

"Yes, indeed." Aro stated absently. I could practically see the gears turning in his head. I knew that he had a knack for vampires with unique abilities and my powers definitely qualified as unique. I know that he wanted me for my powers, but I wasn't about to let him have them. I loved my family; I wouldn't leave them for anything.

Carlisle finally broke the silence. "Well, this has been a wonderful visit." He said. "But I'm afraid that we must be going. I know that I was incredibly short, but we do have human appearances to keep up." He said with a warm smile on his face. I was glad that he was trying to get us out of there. In truth we planned on the visit being very quick. Just a check in on our part to let the Volturi know that we were still under their reign. Aro had gotten what he wanted; to meet me, and that was that. Out tickets back to the mainland were scheduled for the same day, and I was glad. I wanted to get out of there.

"Oh." Aro said; disappointed. "Of course." He said.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality." Carlisle said, nudging me very slightly.

"Oh," I said, taking his hint. "Yes, thank you, all of you." I said, turning to address the other leaders. Marcus was still gaping at me, and Caius's glare had softened slightly into a look of disgust.

Carlisle smiled at them, and then took my hand and spun me around away from the leaders. I hadn't noticed that Jane and Felix were still in the room, but they were still standing next to the door. Beside Jane stood another boy that looked almost like her, except he was a little taller. He must have been Alec, her twin brother. He looked at me as I passed, and I gazed into his bright red eyes, as if I could see all the people that he killed for his eyes to be that red. He looked back at me with an emotion that was something I had never seen before. Affection, maybe? I didn't know, and frankly, I didn't care. He was probably just some kind of trick to get me to join the Volturi.

We followed another guide the way out than we did in, and finally we reached the street again. I was glad for the fresh air.

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I held off of the questions until we got on the train and were alone in our compartment. Carlisle sat down beside me and waited, knowing that I had a million things to ask.

I started with the first question that I had had when we entered the Volturi lair.

"Why was there a human girl down there?" I ask.

"She is a servant. Her parents made a deal with the Volturi that if she served them that they would change her one day."

"Will they?" I ask.

"The Volturi don't always hold up on their promises." Was all he said.

I knew to move on by the way he answered. "Why did Aro and Marcus look at me so funny when I first walked in?"

He hesitated. "You reminded them of Didyme, Aro's sister and Marcus's mate."

"Really?" I said, shocked. "And you knew this the whole time?" I had heard about Carlisle's years in the Volturi, but no one really wanted to talk about them much.

"Yes," Carlisle answered. "I did see a resemblance, but I didn't think that it was of much importance."

I nodded understandably, knowing what he meant.

We sat in silence for a while, thinking over our visit. I finally said what I was thinking.

"I know he wants me." I whispered.

"I know." Carlisle replied.

"I won't let him take me." I stated.

"He won't. The Volturi usually support whatever decision someone makes about joining. Only under radical circumstances do they use force. Sometimes they do try to influence, though." Carlisle explained.

I looked at the ground. "I won't give them that chance."


	17. Wolves

**Hey! Sorry about not updating for a while, but I had a writer's block on this story, and I was working on some other projects. Speaking of, if you like Marvel or the Avengers, you should check out my new story ****Imaginary Heroes: A Collection.****But, now I'm back and in frozen mode, and I hope that you enjoy this chapter. Please note that I try to stay as close to Stephanie Meyer's Twilight when I'm writing. foxface15 **

Sarah POV:

Surprisingly, the next year was uneventful. We didn't hear anything else from the Volturi, even though I knew that they kept an eye on me. I held firm to my decision, though. I wasn't going to be Aro's play toy anytime soon. For some reason, though my thoughts occasionally drifted back to Alec. Why had he looked at me like that? I wondered.

I did practice a lot more with my powers, though, and eventually, just as Edward said, I was able to control them without thinking about it. It was more like a sixth sense, a feeling, really. I even started to try the whole "sensing" thing that Edward had talked about, and I was making a little progress. It was as if I could feel the people around me, their life force. They felt like light to me. All I had to do to freeze them was to force their light out.

We moved from the cabin to a small town in Washington called Forks in 1947. It was a small logging town in the Olympic Peninsula that was under constant cloud covers and rain. It was overall a good place for vampires. We had built our own house; a three story home that looked over the Sol Duc River. Esme particularly loved the house, particularly because she had designed it. All of the walls on the south side of the house were made of glass, and the interior was almost always bright and open. The whole house was surrounded by dense forests, which made it a great hunting location.

Everything was quiet and peaceful, at least until we discovered the wolves.

Carlisle, Edward, Emmett, Rosalie and I were out hunting. We had just tracked a herd of deer when the smells suddenly changed. We were stooped over our kill when we heard the cracking of tree branches behind us. We all turned around suddenly, and I saw a flash of fur disappear behind the trees before a few members of the Native American tribe that lived nearby appeared, watching us in disgust.

We glanced around, looking at each other nervously. We had been caught red-handed, our true nature revealed. Carlisle walked forward with his hands raised. The tribe members raised their weapons at him, and he took a step back, trying to make peace.

"We mean no harm, I promise you." Carlisle said calmly.

An elderly man in ceremonial clothing stepped forward, and I guessed that he must be the chief of the tribe. "We have seen your kind before, Cold One. I suggest that you leave." He said in a gravelly voice that held authority.

They had seen vampires before? That's not good. As far as Carlisle knew, we were the only vampires who didn't hunt humans. I idly wondered how much damage was inflicted on the tribe. I felt a pang of pity for the tribe, and guilt, because it was my kind that had done it to them.

"You are at no risk, I assure you. We do not hunt humans, as you can see. We only hunt animals." Carlisle explained, gesturing to the dead deer behind us.

The chief looked at our kill behind us. Then he turned back to Carlisle. "But how do we know that you will not harm humans in the future? We need proof."

Carlisle ran his fingers through his hair, just like he always did when he was in deep thought.

"A treaty." Edward suddenly cut in. "You want a treaty, correct?"

The chief looked Edward over. "Yes. That is what we want. We want the people to be safe. Stay off our land."

"Of course." Carlisle replied, wanting to please the chief.

Just then, another tribe member ran up to the chief and whispered in his ear, even though we all could hear what he said.

"Also, never hurt another human. It is our sacred duty to protect them, and you could easily interfere with that." The chief said.

"Yes." Carlisle agreed, nodding his head.

The tribe members turned to leave, but the chief turned and issued a final statement. "If you keep our secret, we'll keep yours." Then, to our amazement, the whole group burst into giant wolves, and disappeared into the trees.

We all gasped. They had turned into wolves. How was that possible? I turned to Edward, looking for answers.

"So that's what they meant by keeping the secret." He mumbled to himself.

I turned back to Carlisle. "What if you have to change someone else? How would that interfere with the treaty?"

"It would break it." Edward said to me. "In their minds, changing someone is the same as killing them."

"Oh." I said back. I guess that _would _make someone technically dead, but what if we had to save someone else? Wouldn't that count for _something?_

We all took one last look at the trees where the wolves had disappeared, and then turned and ran back to the house.

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**So, there it is! I finally got some kind of backbone in my story, and now I can go by the books whenever I need support. I really hope that you enjoy the story so far! There will be many new chapters to come, I hope! If you have any suggestions, please let me know, and I really need to know where to end the story. I don't know if I should end it at the beginning of the books, or take it all the way through to the end. 3 foxface15**


	18. The Denalis'

Sarah POV

It seemed that time passed more quickly when you were a vampire. We moved away from Forks soon after our encounter with the wolves. We were all still pretty shocked at the discovery of their existence, and we decided that it would be best if we gave them their space.

We moved up north, all the way to Alaska. We hadn't settled down yet, and we still needed to build a house that we could stay at.

Edward, Carlisle, Emmett, and I were out on a hunting and scouting mission one day when we first smelled something different. We had all been running through the forest when Edward, who was in the lead, suddenly stopped.

"Carlisle, do you smell that?" He asked.

We all hesitantly took a sniff of the air, and sure enough, I smelt a different smell aside from the herd of deer that we had been hunting. It smelled like... like us. Like a vampire. But it didn't smell like a normal vampire, though. It didn't smell like the Volturi.

"What is it?" I asked. "It smells like a vampire, but different, somehow."

"Yeah." Emmett said, agreeing with me.

"Should we follow the scent trail?" Carlisle asked.

Edward stood deep in thought for a minute, before finally answering. "Yes, but carefully. We don't want to start anything."

We followed the scent back to a small cabin in the middle of the forest. A small trail of smoke was drifting out of a chimney.

"What's going on in there, Edward?" Carlisle asked.

"I don't hear anything, Carlisle, but—"Edward was suddenly cut off when he was attacked by a person, well, a vampire, to be more exact. He then fell, screaming, to the ground in agony, still in the vampire's grip.

I barely had time to react before someone attacked me as well. I was pushed to the ground and held in a deadlock, and as I looked up, I saw Emmett and Carlisle struggling with another vampire.

I couldn't take it anymore. I reached out with my powers and found each of the vampires' lights in my mind. Edward had said that I still had progress to make with this area of my powers, but I was so worked up and afraid for my family that I used them fully and without fault.

Simultaneously, I turned out all of their lights. The forest around me grew silent, as the attack finally ended.

I pushed the frozen vampire off of me and sat up. Carlisle and Emmett also had the vampire that attacked them lying on the ground beside them. I saw that Edward was still lying under the grip of the vampire that had attacked him, and I rushed over to pull her off of him.

"You okay?" I asked as he sat up and rubbed his hands through his hair.

"Yeah." He mumbled.

"What did she do to you?" I asked, remembering how he fell after she attacked him.

"She shocked me." He replied.

"Wow." I say, as Carlisle and Emmett bring over the other two vampires.

I walk over to them, and look them over. They all look vaguely similar to each other, which surprised me. Were they sisters?

The one that attacked Edward had stick straight dark blond hair that fell to her shoulders. Edward said that she had shocked him, and I would've bet that that was her power.

The one that attacked Emmett and Carlisle had short pale blond hair that reminded me of Carlisle's hair color. It also went down to her shoulders and was straight.

The one that attacked me had strawberry blond curls that fell slightly past her shoulders.

Overall, they were all very pretty, but the expressions of hatred on their faces said otherwise. But that wasn't what surprised me.

They had gold eyes, like ours.

"They hunt animals." I say. "Look at their eyes. That must be why they smell different."

"Yes." Edward says, just now standing up.

'Thank you Sarah." Carlisle says, coming over to me and putting a hand on my shoulder. "If you hadn't of come with us that might have ended badly."

"No problem." I say, and then turn back to the frozen vampires. "What do we do now?" I asked.

"Well, we have to see what they know." Carlisle says. "They're like us, after all, and as far as we know they're the only other ones."

"Should I unfreeze them?" I ask.

"Yes, but not all at once." Edward explained. "Could you just unfreeze their head, and thoughts?" He asked.

"Sure, I can try." I reply. I turn back to the vampires and slowly unfreeze their minds and heads only. It is hard, and I start to fidget from the stress, but I push it out of my mind and focus instead on the vampires.

Immediately they all start hissing and screaming at us.

"Sarah…"Edward says, and I catch his hint.

"Quiet." I say and freeze their mouths. They sit frozen in shock as they realize that I'm who's in control. Their eyes widen.

Carlisle steps forward. "I promise that we will release you if you calm down. We mean you no harm, we are only curious." The vampires' eyes remain on me. "Understand?"

They all three glance at each other, then nod.

I unfreeze their mouths, and they again look at me.

"Who are you?" Edward asks.

"I am Tanya, and these are my sisters Kate and Irina." The strawberry blond vampire that attacked me says, nodding to each of her sister's as she says their names.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Tanya, Kate, Irina." Carlisle says, nodding his head to each of the three.

"How are you doing that?" Kate asks me. "How are you keeping us from moving?"

"The same way you shocked my brother." I said back. She looks at me in awe.

"You feed the same way we do." Carlisle inquires.

"Yes." Irina says. "We only hunt animals. We have never encountered another coven that fed that way, until now."

"Same for us." Carlisle says, smiling.

"Can we please move again?" Tanya asks, looking at me. In response, I turn to Edward. He nods, and I release then. They all are on their feet in an instant, and walk forward to shake our hands. As they come to me, they each hesitate, but I smile gingerly at them, insisting that I mean no harm.

We made great friendships that day. The Denali's, as we called them, were the only other coven that shared our beliefs of not harming human life. We went on to become so close that we seemed like family to each other.

Well, at most times. Tanya made a move once for Edward, but he politely turned her down. I never figured out why. Me and him were the only single members in the family, and I always wondered why he never accepted her offer.

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**So, what do you think? **

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	19. The Newcomers

We stayed in Denali with Tanya, Kate, and Irina for about 3 years, and then moved to a rural town in Idaho where Carlisle could begin a new practice. I was now in complete control over my hunger, and the rest of the family considered us starting high school in the fall. Personally, I didn't care, I had already been once, and I didn't really feel like going again.

"What else do you expect us to do, Sarah?" Edward asked when he heard me thinking it. "Sit around all day and do what? Nothing?"

I just shrugged. I guess that he was right. It was better than nothing. Oh well, I guess it would be a good way to learn how things have changed over the past 12 years since I'd been changed.

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I was helping unpack all of our belongings at home, while Edward and Emmett went out hunting. I had taken a few of my things up to my new room when I heard a knock on the door. I stood up. Who would come to see _us_? We were probably known as the town freaks at the moment, and I knew that if we started school we would be outcast. Maybe they were neighbors, coming over to be friendly.

I turned to face the door, and Rosalie was suddenly there, her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion, and I know that mine looked the same. I idly wished that Edward was here, so that he could tell us what was going on.

We both walked down the hallway of the second floor and stopped when we got to the staircase. We stood at the top and watched as Carlisle walked forward to open the door. A tiny girl with black hair and a tall young man with blond curls stood outside the door. They were both incredibly pale. I gasped at the same time Rosalie did, when I realized that they were vampires.

A million thoughts raced through my head. _Why were they here? Were they sent by the Volturi? What do they want from us? How did they find us?..._

I looked down in shock at the vampires, and waited to see what would happen.

"It's so nice to finally meet you, Carlisle!" The short girl said, and then, to our amazement, jumped forward and hugged Carlisle. Over his shoulder she looked up at us and smiled, and I saw that her eyes were yellow, like ours. I looked down at the boy, and noticed that his eyes were also yellow, but closer to an orange color than the girl's.

"Ummm…" Carlisle mumbled, dumbstruck.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I forgot." The girl said, and pulled away. "My name's Alice and this is my mate Jasper." She said, gesturing to the boy, who was still standing in the doorway.

Me and Rosalie glanced at each other, both of us wondering what was going on.

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It turned out that Alice could see the future, and apparently she saw herself and Jasper living with us and becoming 'vegetarian vampires' as they called it.

I thought it was cool that a vampire could see the future, and Jasper explained that he could influence the emotions of others. We didn't really believe him until he sent a wave of calm over all of us. Then we knew that we could trust them. Alice explained that Jasper still had some problems controlling his thirst, which made us a little uneasy, but she said that she didn't see him doing anything, well, bad. Yet.

After introductions, Carlisle let Alice and Jasper move into Edward's room, which was kind of funny to me. Edward and Emmett would have a big surprise waiting for them when they came home from their hunting trip.

I watched as they quietly looked around their new room, and then turned towards each other.

"It's just like I knew it would be." Alice whispered to him. Then Alice leaned up on her tippy-toes and gave Jasper a long, heartfelt kiss.

I suddenly longed for something that they had, whether it is true love or something else. Maybe I was only catching Jasper's emotions at the moment, but it _felt_ real.

I cleared my throat, wanting to get rid of the feeling. Alice and Jasper turned towards me.

"Is it okay?" I ask, trying to be friendly. "I can get you another room if you want."

"No thank you Sarah." Alice said. "It's perfect. Right Jasper?" She asked after a second thought.

"It is." He said hesitantly. "Thank you Sarah, for your and your family's hospitality."

"You're welcome." I said, and then left them to their selves and walked to my room down the hallway.

I started to unpack more of my things, and looked around my room. It was the same pale blue color as my studio in the cabin in Montana, and one of the walls was a window the length of my room. I loved it. My painting supplies were in a corner of the room, and I walked over to get them. As I leaned over, I heard a knock on the door.

I stood back up, and see that Alice is standing in the doorway. I gave her a polite smile.

"Do you need anything?" I ask, trying to be helpful.

Instead of answering, she looks around at my art. "You're a great artist, you know." She says.

"Umm…Thanks?" I say, uncomfortable.

"Anytime." She says, again cheerful and upbeat. "I think that we'll be really close, Sarah. I'm so happy. I knew that this day would come, but it's so wonderful now that it's actually here!"

I giggle. "How long have you been waiting?" I ask.

"Quite a while." She says with a smile on her face.

My eyebrows wrinkle in confusion. "Couldn't you have come at any time?"

"Not exactly." She explains. "I had to wait for everything to be ready. There's a time for everything, right?"

"Yeah." I agree. "I see what you mean."

"I know we'll be great friends, Sarah. I've seen it happen." Alice told me.

"Well, we've got quite a while ahead of us. I hope that we are." I reply, smiling at her.

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**So, what do you think? I'm trying to stay true to the storyline of the book, so I hope I did well!**

**If you have any suggestions for the next chapter, I will gladly take them, because I'm not quite sure where to go from this…**

**Please review!**

**Foxface15**


	20. A New Beginning

You know how they say time flies, but not when you want it too? It's true, especially for me.

I watched as 50 years slid by me so fast that it seemed that I blinked and they were gone.

I watched my parents grow old and die, my brother and sister get married and have families, and then die themselves. It broke my heart that I had to watch them, when I was still 16, physically speaking.

The past year I celebrated my 84th birthday, something completely strange to me. It was weird, being young and beautiful, but knowing that you should have wrinkles and grey hair.

I had long since started going to school with the rest of my 'adopted siblings', Alice and Jasper included. They had been warmly welcomed into the family, though Jasper still had a hard time controlling his thirst. Not long after they joined the family, they were married. It was the first wedding I'd been to since 1927. I really enjoyed it.

I thought that it was funny; going to school over and over, when you knew most everything that there was to know. I saw how people admired us because of our looks, but overall, we were outcasts. We tried to get as many classes together as we could, and at lunch we sat all by ourselves.

Plus, we had to move often so that people didn't notice that we were aging. I enjoyed the moves because I got to see new places, but I hated leaving the old ones behind.

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In August of 2003, we moved back to Forks, Washington, where we met the wolves. He had been living in Denali with Tanya, Kate, and Irina, who had also added two new members to their coven. Carmen and Eleazar were a couple who also believed in vampire vegetarianism. They had stumbled across the Denali's, and were welcomed in as part of the family.

I didn't know what to expect from the Quileute's, the tribe with the shape shifters, but Edward said that they only believed the shape shifting and vampires to be part of their legends.

"_But they do know about vampires?" I asked him one day._

"_Yes, they know our secret, but the treaty remains. They keep our secret, we keep theirs."_

The story that we had gone by this time was that we had moved down from Alaska because Esme wanted to live in a small town. Carlisle had taken a job at the local hospital, and we were all enrolled in school. I was still 16 this time, sometimes I was 17 so that I would be with Edward, Alice, and Jasper. Emmett and Rosalie were usually one year ahead of us so that they would have a year to themselves to pretend to be a college while they were really off living as a couple somewhere.

So I was 16, but apparently I was a genius, because I had bumped up a grade and was in the same grade as my siblings.

We went through the normal process, the stares, the out casting, I even got asked out a couple of times by a few brave souls. Of course I politely turned them down, saying I just got over a relationship in Alaska that might take a while to get over. Of course I would never get over it.

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Everything went alright until 2006, when the fun began.

I was a junior, as was Edward, Alice, and Jasper. Rosalie and Emmett were seniors.

It was January. Rumors were going around that the police chief's – Charlie Swan – daughter Isabella was coming to stay with him. This was big news for a small town such as Forks, word spreads fast.

It was the 18th. The day had gone smoothly so far, and I hoped that it stayed that way. We were walking into lunch, and I didn't really want to. We didn't eat, so I saw no point in even going to the cafeteria. It only gave people another reason to stare at us.

We sat at our table in the corner of the cafeteria, and I saw a girl with thick brown hair and chocolate brown eyes walked over with Jessica Stanley and joined Angela Weber, Mike Newton, Jessica Stanley, Lauren Mallory, and Ben Cheney at a table. The girl – I now realized was Isabella – was looking nervous, and I didn't blame her for it. Moving to a new place was hard. Alice got up and left, heading in the direction of the library. I didn't know why, but I didn't question it. I trusted Alice

Isabella must of saw us soon after, and like always, the normal conversation of someone who has just saw the Cullen's for the first time ensured.

"Who are _they_" Isabella asked.

Jessica looked up and over to us, but I figured that she already knew who Isabella meant. Jessica giggled and turned back to Bella.

"That's Edward, Emmett, and Sarah Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." She explained under her breath.

Isabella looked sideways at us, and her eyes landed on Edward, who was picking absentmindedly at the untouched food on his tray.

At the same time, Edward was relaying to us what everyone was thinking.

"I don't know what it is, but I can't hear the new girl's thoughts." Edward said. "It's scaring me. I wonder if she's different than other people in the way she thinks."

_Hmm. That's weird. I hope nothing's wrong with her_. I think to myself. _She seems nice._

"They are…very nice looking." Isabella said. I let a small smirk slip. I could tell that she was trying to find words to describe us, and failing.

"Yes!" Jessica said back, giggling. "They're all _together_, though – Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they _live_ together." She said with shock in her tone.

"What about Edward and Sarah?" Isabella asked.

"Oh, no. For whatever reasons." Jessica said. I thought that I could sense relief in her voice. I stole a glance at Edward, who had to suppress a chuckle.

"Which ones are the Cullen's?" Isabella asked. "They don't look related…"

"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales _are _brother and sister, twins – the blondes – and they're foster children."

"They look a little old for foster children." Isabella inferred.

"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's they're aunt or something like that."

"That's really kind of nice – for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything."

"I guess so." Jessica said, like she was being forced to say it, and it made me think that she didn't like us for some unknown reason. "I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though." She added.

"Have they always lived in Forks?" Isabella asked.

"No." Jessica said. "They just moved here two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."

Edward suddenly looked up at Isabella and held her gaze until she looked away. I look over at Edward.

_What was that for? _I thought towards him, wondering why she made him so uncomfortable all of a sudden. He just shrugged.

"Which is the boy with the reddish brown hair? Isabella asked. I looked over at Edward, who is looking at his tray like he is mad at it.

"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." Jessica said with a sniff. I noticed that both Edward and Isabella were suppressing smiles from the comment.

We sat there a few more minutes, and then got up to leave. As we walked out of the cafeteria, I felt eyes on me, and turned back to see Isabella glancing at me. I flashed her a smile and she quickly turned away. I turned back towards the door, and smiled to myself. I was beginning to like this girl.

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**So, we've finally hit the books! (No pun intended) I'm sorry that I couldn't write anything in the 50 years, but nothing happened there in the books, so I have nothing to go on. Also, I did read the book while I was writing this, so if you look at the book, you will see that this is exactly the same, with only a few modifications to include Sarah. I really hope that you like it; I know that I enjoy finally being able to draw from the books. Please review, I want to know what you think.**

**Foxface15**

**P.S. You have no idea how many times I almost typed Bella instead of Isabella. Sarah still doesn't know that Bella likes to be called Bella instead of Isabella. Apparently my brain didn't get to point…**


	21. Singer

We all had different classes after lunch, so we split ways and went to our next class. I had English, and I remembered that Rosalie and Emmett had Trigonometry, Alice had Art, Jasper had Chemistry, and Edward had Biology.

I sat through my English class, not even paying attention to the teacher. I already knew everything that we were going over today, heck; I knew what we would be going over for the next year!

I was relieved when the bell finally rang, and I walked down to my locker to grab my things for my next class. My locker door was open, so I didn't realize it when someone ran into it until it was too late.

Their books fell to the ground and I quickly leaned down to help them pick them up. I looked up to see Isabella Swan.

"Are you okay?" I asked as we finished gathering her things and stood up.

"Umm… yeah." She said, rubbing her head. "I should have been watching where I was going." She looked up then, and realized who she was talking to.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She said, worry clear on her face.

"It's fine." I said, smiling to reassure her. "You're Isabella, right?"

"Just Bella." She replied. "But yeah. That's me."

"Sarah Cullen." I said, closing my locker. "Nice to meet you."

"Thanks." She said, but acting a little shyer.

"You seem to be getting a lot of attention." I said as we turned to walk down the hallway.

"Yeah. It's embarrassing." She said, looking down at her feet.

"I know how you feel." I said, recalling our move here two years ago.

Suddenly the bell rang. "Well, I guess that's our signal to part ways." I say with a chuckle. "Do you need help finding your class?"

"No thank you, I think I can find it." Bella says with a smile. Then her expression becomes troubled. "Sarah?" She asks.

"Yes?" I reply, confused.

"Is Edward okay? He was acting weird during Biology." Bella infers.

My eyebrows wrinkle. What was wrong with Edward? "I hope so." I say, replying to Bella. "You know," I say, coming up with a quick lie. "He did say he felt a little sick at lunch. I'll have to check up on him. Don't worry. I'll make sure that he's okay."

"Okay." Bella reply's shyly, starting to turn away.

"If you need any help, just ask, okay?" I say.

"Okay." She says, turning around and smiling, before walking away.

No sooner had she turned was I walking briskly down the hallway to find Edward.

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I ignored the bell that rang for class to start and made my way out into the parking lot. I'd figured that Edward would find his way out there eventually.

I saw him practically running at a human pace out to his car.

_Stop right there. _I thought at him. _We need to talk._

He suddenly turned around, an angry expression on his face. I stop.

"What's going on, Edward?" I ask, ignoring my fear and continuing towards him.

He turns back towards his car and angrily pounds on the hood, nearly leaving a dent. "She's my singer, Sarah." He said, not moving from his position leaned against the hood.

"Bella?" I say. "You're singer?" I suddenly realize that Bella was the one who just bumped into me and back away from Edward, not wanting to tempt him.

"Yes, Sarah. I don't know what to do!" He said, turning to face me, a tortured expression on his face.

"She said that you were acting weird in Biology. What happened?" I ask.

"I had the only open chair in the class, so she sat with me. I thought that everything would be fine, but when the fan blew her scent at me…" He stops, probably remembering Bella's scent.

'Edward." I say, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You know that I can't possibly understand how you feel because I haven't met my singer yet, but apparently you're stronger than it, because you made it through that class." I say, reassuring him.

"But I spent every moment thinking about how I would kill her, Sarah." Edward said; the tortured expression still on his face. "I don't know if I can do that again."

"What do you think you should do?" I ask.

"I need to leave." He says with a sudden realization.

"Where would you go, Edward?"

"I don't know. Somewhere where I could prepare myself for what is going to eventually happen." He says, sighing. "I'll have to get near her again if I come back to school."

"Go to Denali." I say. "Stay with Tanya and Kate. They'll support you. Then, when you think that you're ready, you can come back."

"You're right." He said. "Thank you Sarah." He smiles.

"Don't stay gone too long, big brother." I say. "We'll miss you. And Bella will probably think that you completely hate her."

He frowns. "I know."

"Don't worry." I say, walking forward to gingerly touch his arm. "You'll figure it out."

"Have I ever told you that you're a good little sister?" Edward asks, smiling down at me.

"Yes, but tell me again. I like to hear it." I say sarcastically.

"You are the most wonderful, helpful, thoughtful little sister that anyone could ask for, Sarah." Edward says, chuckling.

"Better than Alice?" I ask, shocked.

"Sometimes." Edward says.

I roll my eyes, and we both laugh. Edward sighs.

"I need to go." He says, looking at his car.

"Okay." I say, turning to look at the school. "I need to get back to class."

"Not that you want to." Edward says, opening his car door.

I sigh. "But unfortunately I have to." I say, turning back to Edward, who is starting his car. He shuts his door and puts his car into reverse.

_Be careful._ I think at him. He nods his head from inside the car.

I watch him until he disappears from sight, then turn back towards the school and walk to my next class, which I diligently sit through, even though all I can think about is Edward and Bella.

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**Please review!**


	22. Recovery

After school was over, I walked out to meet the rest of the family, who were looking around curiously for Edward and the Volvo. It had been what we drove today, so we had no way home when he left.

As I walked towards them, Alice turned to face me. I could tell by the look on her face that she already knew what was going on. She must have seen Edward's decision to leave.

"What happened, Sarah?" She asked. The rest of the family turned to face me, curious looks on their faces. "Where's Edward?"

"Umm…," I mumble, trying to find something to say that didn't sound vampirish; we were still at school surrounded by humans after all.

"He got sick." I continue, using my lie that I had made up for Bella. "He had to leave."

"So…" Emmett says, always sarcastic. "How exactly are we supposed to get home?"

I chuckle; we all know very well that we could easily run home, it was just the whole 'human' façade that kept us from doing it.

"We could call Carlisle." Rosalie suggests. "He could pick us up on his way home from work."

Alice already has her phone out, dialing Carlisle's cell phone. He picks up on the third ring, and he and Alice talk for a bit. Alice explains our situation to him, and then, after he tells her something that I can't make out, she hangs up.

"He'll be here in about fifteen minutes." She explains, a glazed look on her face. Then she looks up at me. "He knows."

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After a silent and cramped car ride home in Edward's Volvo, which confuses me, we arrive home. Esme meets us at the door with a smile on her face, which soon turns into a confused look when she sees us minus Edward.

Nobody says anything, and we all walk into the living room and sit down.

Carlisle sighs, and it breaks the tension between us.

"What's going on?" Esme asks. "Where is Edward?"

Carlisle and I glance at each other. "Edward found his singer." I start.

"His singer?" Jasper asks. "Really?"

"Yes." I reply, looking at my hands. "She kind of…ran into me in the hallway." I explain. "She said he was acting weird, so I went out to find him. He told me, and then left. He was going to go to Denali."

Carlisle continues after I finish, knowing more than I do. "He came to switch cars with me at the hospital, and he told me everything. He wanted the Mercedes because it had a full tank of gas, and he didn't want to stop along the way."

"Did he say anything about when he would be back, Sarah?" Esme asks me, clearly worried.

"No." I reply, looking at the floor and shaking my head. "He didn't say."

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I think that it was safe to say that school was awkward for the next week. Edward called once, he said that he was in Denali with the sisters, and that he was constantly hunting to get his strength up so that he didn't hurt Bella when he came back.

School was worse, seeing the disappointment in Bella's eyes when she saw us but not Edward was nearly unbearable. I could tell that she thought that he left because of her. And he did, but probably not for the reasons that she thought.

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Edward didn't come back until Monday morning, when he thought he was at his strongest. He knew that Bella would be shocked to see him, seeing that he hadn't been there all week. I felt bad for her; as far as she knew he left because he hated her.

Monday it started snowing. It was the first snowfall of the New Year, and everyone was enjoying themselves. I loved the snow; it reminded me of when I was still human and living in Utah. My parents would bundle me and my siblings up and then send us outside to play.

On our way to lunch we got caught up in a snowball fight when Emmett threw a snowball at Edward's head, trying to lighten the tenseness that hung around him. Alice and Rosalie ducked away, trying not to get wet, but I remained to battle with the boys; wanting to have some fun.

We continued on to lunch, our hair and clothes soaked and collecting little white puffballs of snow. We sat down at our usual table, still laughing at each other.

Even though we were laughing and having a good time, there was still that tenseness that hung in the air around us. Everyone was still afraid of what would happen between Edward and Bella.

I glanced to the side and noticed Bella standing at the door of the cafeteria, staring at us. Or more specifically, staring at Edward. Jessica walked over to Bella.

"Bella, what are you staring at?" Jessica said, her eyes following Bella's.

Edward suddenly looked up, meeting Bella in the eyes, and she looked down, embarrassed.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica giggled.

"He doesn't look angry, does he?" Bella says, barely audible.

I still couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She thought that Edward hated her. Even though that he was her singer, I would have to remember to get him back later for making her feel so bad.

"No," Jessica said, apparently confused by Bella's question. "Should he be?"

"I don't think he likes me," Bella said, laying her head down on her arm, and I wondered if she was sick to her stomach because of this. Yep, I was definitely going to get Edward back for this later.

"The Cullens don't like anybody…well; they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you." Jessica said, slightly increasing my dislike for her. If only she knew why we don't notice anyone, or socialize, but she could never know our secret.

"Stop looking at him," Bella hissed at Jessica, which made me snicker slightly.

I could still tell that Bella was terrified, but determined at the same time. I hoped that she would be okay. Her and Edward both. They needed it.

The bell for class rang and we all went our separate directions to class. Before he left, I exchanged a glance with Edward.

_You've got this. _I thought. _You're stronger than you were then._ I start to turn away, but then remember something.

_Oh, yeah. Be nice._

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0** A/N: Sorry that I haven't updated in so long; school started, I was playing sports, and my friend got me addicted to Tumblr. Like I said: SORRY.**


	23. The Accident

After school, everyone seemed to be _very _interested in what had gone on between Edward and Bella. As the rest of the family waited outside next to his car, waiting eagerly to see what had happened.

When Edward finally did show up, everyone gave a huge sigh of relief.

A huge smile was plastered on his face. He had done it: He had survived Biology; he had survived Bella.

He walked confidently through the misty rain. He walked over to where we were; surrounding the Volvo, and stood outside his door as we got in. From my seat next to the window, I could see what he was waiting for: Bella.

She trudged through the rain to her old Chevy truck and climbed inside. After she had started it up, she looked around to check if anyone was coming. Then she saw Edward looking at her. She hurriedly looked away and backed out, almost hitting a rusty Toyota Corolla. Before she hit it, though, she slammed the brakes and narrowly avoided it. She hesitated, and then pulled all the way out. As she drove past, I saw Edward chuckling slightly.

He climbed in the car after Bella had gotten out of the parking lot.

"What was that for?" I asked harshly. "You almost caused her to crash!"

"Well I thought it was funny." Edward said, still chuckling.

"Ha ha. Very funny." I said sarcastically. "_Edward, what did you do at school today?" _I said in a mock voice. "_Oh, nothing, I just almost killed the same girl twice."_

Edward, still unphased, pulled out of the parking lot with a grin on his face. I make an unapproving noise, and turn towards the window to stare at the trees.

"I'm glad you had a nice day." Alice says from behind me.

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The next day it was snowing when we arrived at school. It was the bad kind of snow, too; the kind that made the road icy. We had just gotten out of the car and were standing around before school started when Bella Swan pulled into the parking lot with chains on her truck's tires.

She climbed out of her truck and walked to the back, looking down at her tire. She must've not have known that there were chains on them.

Suddenly, a loud noise pierced the quiet parking lot. I whipped my head around to see Tyler Crowley's dark blue van skidding across the parking lot. Straight towards Bella. Her head whipped around, and I saw her make eye contact with Edward. Then, as the van concealed her from my view, I turned away, and braced myself for the scent of blood to fill the air. I looked towards the rest of the family, but something was off. Edward was gone.

I heard the sickening crunch of the van hitting Bella's truck, but no tempting scent came. I look back towards the crash, and barely, _just barely, _I could make out two bodies from in between the truck and the van.

_What was Edward doing?! _I screamed internally before I found myself being whisked away by Emmett to the side of the car, and I realized that I had scooted a couple of feet closer to the accident.

"We need to make way for the Ambulance." He whispered in my ear.

"Will they even _need_ an Ambulance?" I ask.

"Maybe for Tyler." He replied, and I dully noted the faint scent of blood coming from the van. Tyler must have hit something and was bleeding.

I looked over to where Jasper and Alice were, and saw Alice nearly shoving Jasper into the car and then turning it on, the air conditioner full blast to get rid of any outside scents.

When the Ambulance came, I saw the EMT's remove Tyler from the van, blood running down his face, and place him on a stretcher. After him came Bella, a neck brace on, who was also on a stretcher, with Edward trailing behind her walking under his own power.

After the ambulance had driven off, we continued through the uneventful school day - because everyone was talking about the accident, even the teachers, we didn't do anything. We went home and waited for Edward and Carlisle to come home from the hospital.

When they came home, Carlisle explained that Bella was completely unscathed, and that Tyler only had to have a few stiches in his forehead.

"How could you do this to us, Edward!?" Rosalie exclaimed after Carlisle had finished talking. "How could you do this to us? People will notice how you just _magically _appeared next to Bella and saved her life. We'll have to move again, all because you couldn't stand to see her get hurt!"

"She's my singer, Rose!" Edward yelled back. "Do you think that I could see her blood and _not _do anything?! I _had _to save her!"

"Both of you be quiet." Carlisle said, separating them. "Edward, you did make the right decision. Rosalie, don't be so harsh on him. Bella thinks that he was standing next to her and pushed her out of the way. There is nothing to worry about."

"And what if other people notice that he was _nowhere _near her?" Rosalie pressed her case. "What then?"

"I'll deny it." Edward said. "And besides, who would ask me anyways? We're the outcasts, remember? Nobody wants to get around the mysterious Cullen kids." Then, without another word, Edward flitted upstairs to his room before Rosalie could yell at him anymore.

I turned back towards Rosalie, a glare on my face. She just _had_ to contradict everything that we did, didn't she? We couldn't make one mistake without her getting mad at us. I loved her as a sister, but she could make me mad. My anger flared up at her so much that I could feel my control on my power slipping. I had learned early on that my powers were greatly linked with my anger.

"Sarah?" Esme asked, taking in my glare towards Rosalie. "Are you okay?"

Emmett stepped in front of Rosalie, protecting her.

I tried to shake off my anger and let it go, but to little avail. I did feel my control fall back into place, though. "Yeah. I'll be fine." I said as I turned around to walk up the stairs, glancing back to see that Rosalie was peeking around Emmett with an apologetic look on her face.

As I walked up to my room on the third floor next to Edward's, I stopped in front of his closed door.

"You okay?" I whispered, knowing that he could hear it.

His door opened, and I looked up at him. He suddenly wrapped me in a hug. "Thank you." He said, sitting me back down. "For doing that, I mean."

"Anytime." I said, smiling slyly up at him.

"Rosalie was scared to death that you would freeze her." Edward said, smiling a crooked smile. "That look that you gave her scared her out of her wits."

I chuckle. "Glad to know that I intimidate her." I sigh, and then walk on to my room, and Edward shuts the door behind him.

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**A/N: Hey guys! How are you? I hope that you are enjoying the story! Please review!**

**Follow me on Tumblr at **

**sarah-cullen-frozen . tumblr . com**

**minus the spaces!**


	24. Normal

The next day at school was utterly and completely normal. It seems that the whole school had forgotten that Edward had been involved too. Everyone swarmed around Bella, wanting to know if she was okay, and what happened in her point of view.

But nobody asked Edward. We sat at our normal table in the corner of the lunchroom, still the outcasts of the school.

I kept noticing that Bella stole glances at Edward. She knew that he had saved her from being crushed by the van, but she didn't know how he got there so fast and stopped the van. She was confused, and she didn't know if she should ask anybody or if she just didn't she him walk up behind her.

But I knew better. I had seen Edward and her exchange a glance at each other right before the van hit her truck. She_ knew_ that he was standing with us, and that there was no way that he could reach her in time to save her.

But why was she choosing not to tell anybody what had happened? What was she afraid of?

Edward never returned Bella's anxious glances, and I wondered why.

Days, which turned into weeks, flew by, and as far as I knew, Edward had not even spoken to Bella since after the crash. I watched as she observed him with a pained expression, and he blatantly ignored her.

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After my English class, I went to gather my things from my locker, which happened to be outside of Mr., Banner's Biology class.

"Bella?" I hear Edward say, and nearly turned all the way around to look at them, as they are still inside the classroom after the bell rang. So Edward was talking to Bella again._ Finally_. I turn a little back towards my locker and slowly gather my things as I watch them with my peripheral vision.

I see Bella, who is slowly walking away from Edward, turn back around slowly to look at him.

"What? Are you speaking to me again?" Bella asked, with petulance in her voice.

He nearly smiled at the remark. "No, not really," He said.

_Edward! What is wrong with you! That's so mean! _I scream at him in my head. He flashes a glance at me, too fast for Bella to notice.

Bella took a slow, deep breath, and gritted her teeth. "Then what do you want, Edward?" She asked.

"I'm sorry. I'm being very rude, I know. But it's better this way." He explained.

_What are you doing, Edward? Breaking up with her. _I said in my mind, knowing that he can hear me. _Funny, I didn't know that you were dating._ He didn't even look up at me then, keeping his focus on Bella.

"I don't know what you mean." Bella said, her voice guarded.

"It's better if we're not friends," Edward said. "Trust me."

"It's too bad you didn't figure that out earlier," Bella hissed back at Edward, and I had to suppress a chuckle at her bravery. "You could have saved yourself all this regret."

_Regret_? I thought. _Regret for what_?

"Regret?" Edward asked my question for me. "Regret for what?"

"For not just letting the stupid van squish me." Bella replied.

From the corner of my eye, I could see that Edward's face was a mask of complete shock at her answer.

"You think I regret saving your life?" He said, almost sounding angry.

"I _know_ you do." Bella confirms.

"You don't know anything." Edward replied, angry.

Bella turned around sharply, definitely meaning to storm dramatically out of the room, but her shoe got caught on the door and her books went clambering to the floor. She hesitated there for a moment, wondering if it was worth picking them up.

Edward walked over to pick up Bella's books, and she bent down to help him.

"Thank you." Bella said with ice in her voice; still mad at Edward.

"You're welcome." Edward retorted.

Bella finished gathering her books and stood up and walked in the direction of the gym. I exchanged a questioning glance with Edward, who also walked away. I closed my locker and walked off to my next class, trying to not think about what I had just seen.

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At the end of the day, as the rest of the family, minus Edward, walked out to the car, I noticed that Edward was already on the way to get out of the lot, but had stopped to get us, cutting Bella off.

_What are you doing now?_ I thought towards him.

A line began to form behind the two, and I wondered why Edward couldn't pull into an empty parking space so that they could get through. But then I knew: he was doing it to irritate Bella. He was starting to make me mad; Bella hadn't done anything to him!

Tyler Crowley walked up to Bella's passenger side window and tapped, getting Bella's attention. She rowed down her window, but we were still too far away to hear what they were talking about.

As we reached Edward's Volvo, Tyler walked away from Bella, leaving her with a shocked look on her face. Edward was laughing, and I didn't have to ask. I knew that it involved something with Bella. I simply gave Edward a dirty look, and let it go.

We were quickly speeding away, and I simply shook my head at Edward, wondering if a good session of being frozen would make change his attitude.

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**A/N: Okay, I know that the chapter was a little short, but it was a logical place to end, considering the conversation that takes place in the next chapter.**

**So, reviews, suggestions, anything?**

**Also, remember, my blog on Tumblr is sarah-cullen-frozen . tumblr . c o m**

**Minus the spaces! Thank you so much for your support! **


	25. Intervention

The next morning, I couldn't help but notice that Bella tried to park as far away from us as possible, and I didn't blame her.

I was sitting outside the school, pretending to study, trying to enjoy the morning, when Bella pulled into the lot. We were the only ones outside the school, and she didn't seem to notice me.

As she got out of the cab of her truck, her keys slipped from her hand, but before she could reach them Edward appeared and snatched them up.

_You're crazy_. I thought towards him. _You're going to give her a heart attack one of these days._

"How do you _do_ that?" Bella asked; amazed.

"Do what?" He asked, holding her key out to her. Bella reached out her hand to take them, and Edward dropped them into her outstretched palm.

"Appear out of thin air."

"Bella, it's not my fault if you are exceptionally unobservant" He said, his voice normal.

I had had enough of Edward's insults towards Bella. I closed my binder and stood up from my seat on a picnic table. I walked determinedly across the yard towards Bella and my brother.

"That was for Tyler's sake, not mine," Edward said, snickering. "I had to give him his chance."

"You…" Bella said as I reached them. They both turned to me.

"Hi Bella." I said, ignoring Edward, who was looking annoyed at me. I smiled warmly at Bella.

"Oh," She said, surprised by my sudden appearance. She glanced back up at Edward. "Hi Sarah."

"Sorry to butt in," I said as I turned to Edward. "But Esme called; she needs you to pick up some groceries after school."

"Okay." Edward said, looking down at me. "I'll have to make sure to do that. Thank you, Sarah."

"Of course." I said, smiling, as I looked up to meet Edward's gaze. "So," I turned to Bella. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." She said, pushing her hair back behind her ear. "Thanks, Sarah."

"Of course." I said as the first bell rang for class. "Well, I'll see you later." I started to walk away as Edward and Bella started talking again.

"And I'm not pretending you don't exist." Edward said as I rolled my eyes and walked away from them into my first class.

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As I walked out of school that evening and made my way to Edward's Volvo, I had the hood of my jacket tucked tight around my face, and my face towards the ground. So I was pretty surprised when I looked up to find that the Volvo wasn't in the parking space. I looked around, wandering if someone might had moved it to another space, but it was nowhere to be seen.

I turned around to face the rest of the family, who were walking towards me, and my gaze landed on Alice.

"Where's Edward?" Rosalie asked, and the rest of the family looked to Alice for an answer. I was pretty sure that she would have an answer; Edward would've had to make the decision to leave school without us.

"He took Bella home." Alice replied as she looked down at her feet.

"Wait." Rosalie said as she raised her eyebrows. "He took _Bella_ home?"

_Oh no. _I thought to myself._ Here we go._

"Yes." Alice sighed. "They were blood-typing in his Biology class today, so Edward skipped. He told me at lunch that he was going to. In a vision I saw him sign her out of school and help her into his car. She must've gotten sick."

"Well that doesn't explain why _he_ had to take her home." Rosalie spit. "Why couldn't she have driven herself?"

"Do you really think that he would let her drive herself if she was about to pass out?" I asked Rosalie. She stayed silent.

"See." I said, and then turned around and smiled snugly to myself, happy that I'd won this round.

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Edward pulled into the parking lot about 20 minutes after school was let out. We all warily climbed into the car, and I sat with my head against Jasper's shoulder in the back, waiting for Rosalie to start.

"So you decided that you could take _Bella_ home," She spit the word, "and just leave us here to get soaking wet in the rain?"

"She got sick in Biology today, and I offered to take her home." Edward said without emotion.

"That still doesn't mean that you can abandon us." Rosalie said.

"Technically I didn't abandon you." Edward said. "It's only 20 minutes after school let out, and you could've run home even if I hadn't of come back at all."

Rosalie didn't say anything else, and the rest of the ride home was quiet.

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After we arrived home, I walked up to my studio, excited to start on a new painting. I was glad that I didn't get bored of my hobby, and was still very much inspired in my art. There seemed to be at least one painting in each room of the house, including the bedrooms.

I walked into my studio and took a deep breath, smelling the paint everywhere. I loved it. My studio was where I felt most at home.

I picked out the paint for my new piece; a landscape painting of a cliff surrounded my forest that I had seen on a recent hunt and felt the need to paint, and sat down behind my easel before realizing that I needed water. I grabbed my cup and sprinted to the bathroom, which was slightly down the hallway from Carlisle's office.

As I filled up my cup, I overheard whispering coming from Carlisle's office.

"I told Bella that I'd take her to Seattle the day of the spring dance at school." I heard Edward say.

_He was taking Bella to Seattle? Maybe he was going a little too far_. I surprised myself by siding with Rosalie for once, but would Edward really want to test his control through a road trip with his singer?

"Well, if you insist, Edward, but please be careful. You don't want to do anything that you might regret." Carlisle replied.

Edward came out of Carlisle's office right as I stepped out the bathroom. He looked warily up at me. "What are you thinking?" I said in the same hushed whisper that Edward and Carlisle had used. "Do you really want to test yourself like that?"

"She needs a ride." Edward replied. "Tell me Sarah, would you let someone go that far away by themselves?"

"You have a point, but you've really got to keep a hold on yourself." I told him. "A road trip with a human is not the safest thing for a vampire to do."

"I know." He said. "I've already planned to go hunting the day before so that it'll be easier."

"Ok then." I said, believing in him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a painting to get back to." I said, and then turned and ran to my studio, shutting the door behind me.

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**A/N: There you go! I hope that you like it! I realized that it was getting a little away from Sarah's story, and the reason for that is that I hadn't planned this far ahead when I created the story! No worries, though, I'm trying to be more personal about it.**

**Now… TWO QUESTIONS.**

**I have two little questions for all of my readers. They each branch down into two sections, so if you want to be honest, there are four questions that I would love to have answers to.**

**The first question is simply out of curiosity.**

**There are no mentions of the Cullen crest in the books, but if Sarah had a crest, would she have a ring or a wrist cuff?**

**If there was a movie based on Frozen, then who would play Sarah? (It can be an actress, or just some random girl who you think would be an awesome Sarah) Just send me a link to a photo, or tell me and I'll look them up.**

**Now to get serious.**

**Should Sarah have a mate? **

**If Sarah should get a mate, should it be a pre-existing character, and they have sort of a forbidden love? **

**Or should it be another OC?**

**I can make no guarantees on the whole 'mate' thing. I wasn't sure if she should have a mate, and I need help making that choice. Still, though, no guarantees.**

**I hope that you enjoy this chapter, please review! **


	26. Reveal

I ended up working on my painting for the whole weekend while Edward and Emmett were away hunting in the Goat Rocks Wilderness. By Sunday, I had finished the painting and Carlisle hung it in his office.

I already knew that we wouldn't be going to school on Monday; Alice had predicted that it would be sunny, so I went back to my studio and tried to figure out what to do. I sat down in my window seat that looked out over the Sol Duc River, and far in the distance, the Olympic Mountain Range. I smiled at the view; it reminded me of how I sat still for three days and stared at nothing but the mountains at our cabin. I giggled; I was so ignorant back then, it was amazing how people changed over time.

I wasted Monday away by reading and trying to figure out what to paint next. I didn't get very far on either; I had already read every book in the house, and I did as much as a rough sketch on my new painting.

I was surprised when it was sunny on Tuesday also; Alice hadn't warned us that it would be sunny for two days in a row, which was a rarity in Forks.

Edward disappeared from the house a little after 5 o'clock, and I would've bet that it had something to do with Bella. I had heard her and Jessica Stanley talking about going dress shopping in Port Angeles that night. I hoped that he didn't bother her much; it was starting to get on my nerves, and I couldn't help but wonder how much he got on Bella's.

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Edward came home at about 8:30. When I heard his Volvo pull into the driveway, I went to the top of the stairs, my painting forgotten for the moment.

I was prepared to criticize him for messing with Bella again, but when he walked through the door, he was smiling. My anger dissipated when I saw him smiling like that, it seemed like forever that I'd seen him happy like this, and I walked down the stairs to meet him with the rest if the family.

"Where were you, Edward?" Esme asked as I stepped off the last step and into the family room and towards my family.

"You were with Bella, weren't you?" Rosalie asked with a noise of disgust in her tone, and I rolled my eyes; couldn't she just leave Bella alone for once?

"Actually, I was." Edward said, not letting his smile drop for a second. I smiled even wider when I saw Rosalie's sneer grow even crueler towards Edward.

"What happened?" I asked as we walked to sit down on the furniture, everyone still looking at Edward.

"Bella had gone with her friends to Port Angeles to go dress shopping, but she went off on her own, and she almost got attacked by a gang." He explained, and our looks of happiness turned into confusion.

"So why are you happy?" Jasper asked.

"I was watching her from a distance, I'll admit it." Edward said, raising his hands in defeat. "But I got to her just in time."

"Thanks good." Esme said, the smile returning to her face.

"Then we went to a restaurant," Edward continued, "And after she ate, I drove her home." He finished.

"I'm assuming that she had questions about how you found her." Carlisle stated, and the rest of us turned toward Edward for an answer. The only way that he would know exactly when and where she was was his ability to read minds. Did he tell her about vampires then?

"Yeah. She did." Edward said, running his hand through his hair.

"So you told her about vampires, then?" Rosalie said with another look on her face. This time I didn't roll my eyes, because I wanted to know too.

"There was no other way to explain it." Edward said, looking only at Carlisle while he spoke.

"So you did tell her." Emmett stated, for once not in a joking mood.

Rosalie stormed off upstairs, and after a glance at Edward, Emmett followed her.

We all just stood around, not staying anything, and then Esme finally broke the silence.

"I want to meet this girl, Edward!" She exclaimed, running forward to grasp his shoulders, and a smile returned to his face, "I have a good feeling about her."

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In the morning we drove Rosalie's convertible and Emmett's Jeep because Edward insisted that he go and pick Bella up at her house. I was really happy for him. It seemed that he had finally stopped neglected his feelings for her. He had said that she accepted us for what we were: vampires, and that she didn't care.

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At lunch Edward and Bella walked in together, and I guessed that he had waited for her after her last class. It was really starting to get couple-like between them, and a part of me was dreading if they made it official. I wasn't looking forward to being the only single one in the family.

The rest of the family and I sat at our normal table, but Edward took Bella to another table that had only a few seniors on the opposite side, who were gaping at the two of them.

I didn't hear much of their conversation, but from where I was sitting, I could watch them without being suspicious. When they sat down with their trays, Edward slid his over to Bella, but then lifted a slice of pizza off of the end and nibbled on it.

I'm sure that my expression in response to that was hilarious. Edward quickly glanced over at me – too fast for human eyes to see – and winked. I was just curious as to why he had eaten something in the first place. He would just have to throw it back up later.

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Later at home, I confronted Edward.

"So, _why _exactly did you eat pizza?" I asked with my arms folded in front of me.

"Bella was wondering what I would do if someone dared me to eat human food." He explained.

"Oh." Well that explained it. "So," I asked, changing the subject, "Are you looking forward to your little road trip this weekend?"

"Actually, we're not going to Seattle anymore." Edward said, looking down at me. "It was just an excuse for Bella to not go to the dance. She doesn't like to dance." Edward said with a small smile, and I rolled my eyes. He was really falling head over heels for her.

"So, where _are_ you going this Saturday?" I asked.

"I thought that I would take her up to that meadow past the hiking trail at the end of the one-ten." Edward explained.

"You're going to take her hiking off road?" I asked. Bella had said herself that she was clumsy. I didn't think that it was the best ideal to take her hiking, even on a trail.

"Yes, but if walking doesn't work out, I can always carry her." He said.

"True." I replied, and started to walk away.

"How does it feel to be the only one left single in the family?" Edward asked sarcastically.

I turned around and froze him, just for a second, because he made fun of me. "It sucks." I said, then turned and kept going down the hallway.

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**So, what do you think?**

**The two questions remain the same.**

**Who would play Sarah in a movie, and would she have a crest in the form of a wrist cuff or a ring?**

**And should Sarah have a mate, and should it be OC or a preexisting character and they have a forbidden love?**

**Please Review!**


	27. Meeting the Family

The night before Edward took Bella hiking up to the meadow, he, Alice and I went hunting. Edward said that we were the most 'supportive' of him, and I didn't disagree. The rest of the family didn't really know what to make of Edward and Bella's relationship. I didn't care, though, I was glad for Edward, and Alice felt the same way.

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After we finished hunting it was nearly 7 in the morning, so Edward went ahead and got ready to leave and go pick Bella up. I caught up with him at the door to wish him good luck.

"Have fun on your date Eddie." I said as he grabbed the keys to his Volvo off of a table beside the door. He turned to face me.

"Thanks, sis." He said in return. "Don't call me Eddie." He added as an afterthought.

"Edward, I've been your little sister for 68 years now; I'll call you what I want to call you." I replied, crossing my arms and letting a grin slip onto my face. I knew that he didn't like it.

He rolled his eyes, seeing that it wasn't any use, but then returned my smile. As he walked out the door he ruffled my hair and I waited until I heard him drove off that I went back upstairs, willing to do anything to not be bored.

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Edward came back at roughly four in the morning the next day.

Carlisle and Esme stopped him at the front door, and I overheard him say that he intended to bring Bella home to meet us that day.

I was ecstatic. I had only officially met Bella once, and that was in the hallway when she ran into me. It wasn't a good start.

But now I got the chance to meet her as Edward's girlfriend. And I guess that made it official that I was the only single family member in the house. So, in a way, I was happy and sad at the same time.

"That's right," I heard Edward say, and I turned around to face him. I had been so lost in my own thoughts that I hadn't heard him come up the stairs. "You're the only single one."

"Ha, ha. Very funny." I said, rolling my eyes. I grinned at him. "How was your date?"

"I was the happiest that I've been in ages, Sarah." He said, and I could tell that he meant it. He looked so relieved, like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

"Good," I said as he walked by me into his room, "That's all that matters."

"Yeah." He said, and then disappeared into his closet.

I walked into his room and sat down on his couch. "You're bringing her to meet us today." I said.

"Looking forward to it, are we?" He asked, his head peeking around the corner to raise an eyebrow at me.

"Very much." I said, smiling.

"You'll be nice?" He asked, walking out of the closet in a new outfit.

"And Alice will attack her with kindness." I stated, answering his question.

He chuckled, and then sat down next to me. "I told her about us; our stories, our powers – everything." Edward said, turning serious.

"So she knows what I can do?" I asked, fear spreading inside me. What if Bella didn't want to be around me because of my power? I didn't want to be intimidating towards her. "Is she afraid of me?"

"I was afraid of that too," Edward began, "but once I told her that you wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone her, she was surprisingly okay with it."

"Really?" I asked. "Because losing the ability to think and move is one of the scariest things that I can think of." I said.

Edward laughed, breaking the tension. He stood up and ruffled my hair. "You're silly. There's nothing to worry about."

"I sure hope not." I replied.

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After Edward left to go get Bella, I hurried around, trying to clean up my room the best I could. I didn't know why, but I felt obliged to make everything neater for Bella.

I cleaned until I heard Edward's car coming up the driveway, and then I waited in the upstairs hallway, out of sight, for them to come in. Carlisle and Esme were waiting to meet Bella first, seeing that they were Edward's parents.

The door opened, and I smelled Bella's scent as she and Edward walk into the house.

"Carlisle, Esme," Edward said, "This is Bella."

"You're very welcome, Bella." Carlisle said, and then I heard footsteps and assumed that they were shaking hands.

"It's nice to see you again, Dr. Cullen." Bella said, and I recalled that they had met before after the accident at school.

"Please, call me Carlisle." Carlisle insisted.

"Carlisle." Bella said, trying it out.

I heard Esme step forward, then, judging by the softer footsteps. "It's very nice to know you." She said.

"Thank you, I'm glad to meet you, too." Bella offered in reply.

"Where are Alice, Jasper, and Sarah?" Edward said. I knew that Alice and Jasper were waiting in their room on the second floor, but as soon as Edward said that Alice flickered to the top of the stairs, Jasper not far behind her.

"Right on time." I whispered as I walked to stand beside Jasper. He chuckled softly and winked at me. But I could tell that he wasn't breathing, he was too afraid that he would hurt Bella.

"Hey, Edward!" Alice called, excited. She ran down the stairs, too fast for human eyes to comprehend, and suddenly stopped in front of Bella. Carlisle and Esme looked at her with caution, warning her not to overwhelm Bella.

"Hi, Bella!" Alice said, bouncing forward to kiss Bella on the cheek.

I was pretty sure that everyone had the same look of shock on their face. Including Bella.

"You do smell nice, I never noticed before," Alice commented, and Bella blushed.

Suddenly Jasper disappeared from my side and reappeared downstairs, but at a reasonable distance away from Bella, being overly cautious. I felt a sense of comfort, and realized that Jasper was using his powers.

"Hello, Bella," Jasper said, staying where he was.

"Hello, Jasper." Bella replied, smiling shyly at him.

I walked down the stairs, then, at a nice human pace. When I got to the bottom, I smiled warmly at Bella, hoping that what Edward said was true, that Bella wasn't afraid of me. "Hello, Bella," I smiled warmly as I crossed the floor to where she stood.

She didn't even hesitate to offer her hand. "Hello again, Sarah." She said, returning the smile. I graciously took her hand.

"How's your head?" I asked.

"Fine, thank you." She said, letting go of my hand. She turned to the others. "It's nice to meet you all – you have a very beautiful home," She added.

"Thank you," Esme said in return. "We're so glad that you came."

Bella looked up at Carlisle, who appeared to be having a silent conversation with Edward. Edward nodded.

Then her eyes trailed around the room, and landed on Edward's piano.

Esme noticed her looking at it. "Do you play?" She asked, nodding towards the piano.

Bella shook her hand. "Not at all. But it's so beautiful," She said. "Is it yours?" She asked Esme.

"No," Esme laughed. "Edward didn't tell you he was musical?"

"No," Bella said, glaring at Edward. "I should have known, I guessed."

Esme looked at her, confused, but I knew what was coming.

"Edward can do everything, right?" Bella explained herself.

Jasper snickered, and I had to catch myself from laughing. Esme looked at Edward reprovingly.

"I hope you haven't been showing off – it's rude." She said, scolding him.

"Just a bit," Edward laughed, and Esme's face softened.

"He's been too modest, actually." Bella said.

"Well, play for her." Esme said, gesturing to the piano.

"You just said showing off was rude," Edward objected.

"There are exceptions to every rule." Esme countered.

Bella jutted in. "I'd like to see you play." She said.

"It's settled, then." Esme said, walking over and pushing him towards the piano. She grabbed Bella also, and sat her down on the bench beside him.

When Edward started playing, Esme shooed us all out, wanting to give the couple privacy.

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I went back to my room on the third floor, and contemplated what to do. I had figured that Edward was going to take Bella on a tour of the house, so I decided to just wait until someone came and got me.

Eventually, after what seemed like forever, I heard Edward and Bella pass by my room.

"Sarah's library and art studio." Edward said to Bella.

"She's very creative, isn't she?" Bella asked.

"Very." Edward replied, and I could hear sarcasm in his voice. "Sometimes I think she's almost _too_ creative."

_Har, har. _I said in my mind, knowing he could hear me.

"Oh, don't be mean. She's your sister." Bella said, taking my defense.

"Exactly." Edward countered.

They continued on into Edward's room, and I heard music start to play. I quietly hummed along; I had heard this track before. Edward usually liked to listen to music when he was in his room, and I could hear it from my studio.

Then I heard a knock on my door, and I flitted over to open it, wondering if it was Edward. Instead I opened it to find Alice and Jasper standing outside.

"We're going to play baseball tonight; the weather's right." Alice said, grinning.

"Awesome." I said, getting excited. I loved playing baseball. It was one of the only things that I could truly _be _a vampire at and not have to worry about people finding out.

"Come on," Alice said. "Let's go tell Edward."

I followed her and Jasper down the hall to Edward's room.

"May we come in?' Alice asked from the hallway.

"Go ahead." Edward said, chuckling quietly.

Alice walked on into the room, but when I got to the doorway where I could see Edward and Bella I hesitated, as did Jasper. They were sitting on his couch, Edward's arm wrapped tightly around Bella's shoulder. I raised my eyebrow, and I could see from the corner of my eye that Jasper looked shocked as well.

"It sounded like you were having Bella for lunch, and we came to see if you would share," Alice said with confidence, and my gaze turned to her.

I saw Bella stiffen at what Alice said, but Edward held her tighter.

"Sorry," He said, "I don't believe I have enough to spare." He said.

"Actually," Jasper said, walking into the room, "Alice says there's going to be a real storm tonight, and Emmett wants to play ball. Are you game?" He asked.

Edward's eyes brightened, but he hesitated in answering. Alice chirped in, probably guessing the reason.

"Of course you should bring Bella." She said, and Jasper glanced at her cautiously.

Edward turned to Bella. "Do you want to go?" He asked, excited.

"Sure." Bella said, not wanting to turn him down. "Um, where are we going?" She asked.

"We have to wait for thunder to play ball," I explained. "You'll see why."

"Will I need an umbrella?" Bella asked.

We all laughed.

Jasper turned to Alice. "Will she?" He asked.

"No," Alice said, confident. "The storm will hit over town. It should be dry enough in the clearing."

"Good, then," Jasper said enthusiastically.

"Let's go see if Carlisle will come." Alice said, jumping back to the door.

"Like you don't know." Jasper said, turning to follow her.

I shook my head before I turned and followed them, closing the door behind me.

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**A/N: sorry that this chapter has been so long in coming guys! Please forgive me… **** I'll try to update more often. **

**But I hoped that you like it! Please review!**


	28. Trouble

After Bella left, I went back to my room and put on some baseball-appropriate attire; jogging pants, a white baseball uniform over a grey long sleeved shirt, and on my way out of my room I grabbed a grey boggin, and my cleats.

Everyone had gathered downatairs so that we could go together to the clearing where we played baseball at; nobody wanted to run alone.

Carlisle had come back from work, and everyone was sitting around waiting on Alice, who, appropriatley, took the longest to get ready.

Everyone else, though, looked like a professional baseball team. Multiple bats and about two dozen baseballs were laid out on the dining room table, and everyone was wearing similiar attire to me.

Alice finally came downstairs, her sharp hair tucked into a baseball cap, and everyone stood up, ready to get a game going.

While the family gathered the equipment, Edward headed for the door. He was going to get Bella to play baseball with us. I didn't know what she was going to do when she got there, but I hoped that she was going to have fun.

I grabbed a couple of bats and headed out the back door, along with the rest of the family, who were carrying the rest of the supplies.

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We ran through the forest , and in no time at all we were at the clearing. I set the bats down next to a few boulders on the outskirts of the clearing.

I hopped up on one of the boulders, and was soon joined by Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett. Carlisle started putting the bases in the right places, and Alice and Jasper grabbed a ball and then ran to the opposite side of the field to toss the ball back and forth.

Esme started a conversation with me about school, but soon I heard Edward and Bella at the edge of the clearing, and we all turned to greet them. It sounded like Edward was laughing. When I saw them come into view about a hundred yards away out of the treeline, I rose, as did everyone else on the boulders. We knew that the game was about to start.

Esme, being the nurturing type, walked over to them, and Rosalie walked off towards the field without looking towards Bella and Edward.

I brushed off her rudeness and followed after Emmett towards the couple.

"Was that you we head, Edward?" Esme asked, referring to the sounds we had heard when they arrived.

"It sounded like a bear choking." Emmett said, and I snickered a little at the comment.

Bella smiled shyly at Esme. "That was him." She said.

"Bella was being unintentionally funny." Edward said, looking at Bella.

Bella looked up, and I turned to see what she was looking at. Alice was running towards us, and she stopped beside of me. "It's time." She said, grinning. She was backed up by a deep rumble of thunder.

"Eerie, isn't it?" Emmett asked, winking at Bella. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Let's go." Alice said, reaching for mine and Emmett's hands and then pulling us towards the field. It didn't feel like we were going fast, but I knew that to Bella we must have been running.

I took my place at the short stop, and looked over to see Carlisle standing between the first and second bases. He smiled softly at me, and I returned it.

I turned, and saw Edward running to his position in the outfield, and then looked back to see Esme and Bella walking towards the edge of the field, where they stopped.

Emmett was swinging an aluminum bat, and he took his stance on home plate, ready for Alice to pitch to him. Jasper stood behind him, catching for us.

"All right." Esme called, starting the game. "Batter up."

Alice held the ball at her hand, and then she threw it so fast that even I had a hard time seeing it.

The ball crashed into Jaspers hand with a loud smack.

Jasper threw the ball back to Alice's waiting hand, and she grinned a little before pitching the ball at the same breathtaking rate as before.

This time Emmett managed to hit the ball, and it shot up into the sky at an impossible speed. Emmett took off around the bases, and I just stood there, knowing that Edward would get the ball soon enough.

"Out!" Esme called as Edward reappeared from the trees, the baseball in his hand and a triumphant grin on his face.

The rest of the inning flew by very quickly.

Jasper hit a ground ball at one point right at me. I snatched the ball up and then and then raced Jasper to first base.

We collided into each other and then landed hard on the ground, but we both jumped back up laughing at each other. As I turned to walk back to my position, I noticed Bella had stood up from where she was sitting with a look of concern on her face. I gave her a smile, letting her know that there was nothing to worry about.

At the end of the first inning Emmett's team was up by one after Rosalie tagged up on one of Emmett's long flies when Edward caught the third out.

While we were taking a short break before the second inning, I saw Edward run over to Bella. I just sat down at my position at home base, waiting for my turn to bat.

Edward ran back over and picked up a bat; he was up first, and I was after him.  
>He kept the ball low, and Carlisle, who batted after Edward, hit one so far that both he and Edward made it in. Alice gave them high fives after the play was over.<p>

The game continued and the score was fluctuating like mad; it was impossible to predicti who was going to win. And of course, we argued, Esme had to step in a couple of times.

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I was up to bat and Edward was catching behind me when Alice suddenly gasped. I felt a breeze behind me and I turned to see that Edward had run to Bella's side.

"Alice?" Esme asked, her voice tense.

"What's going on?" I asked, setting the bat down at my side.

"I didn't see - I couldn't tell," Alice whispered quickly.

The rest of us had assembled in a group around her.

"What is it Alice?" Carlisle asked calmly.

"They were traveling much quicker than I thought." Alice said, her eyes still blank. "I can see I had the perspective wrong before." She murmured. _They_? I wondered. More vampires were coming? Not good.

Jasper leaned over her protectively. "What changed?" He asked.

"They heard us playing, and it changed their path." Alice said, guilt in her eyes. She looked at Bella, and I knew what she meant. Bella was in a very real danger. Undomesticated vampires were a terrible threat to humans.

I glanced quickly to Bella, and I noticed that everyone else seemed to do the same.

"How soon?" Carlisle asked, turning towards Edward, who looked like he was concentrating very hard on something.

"Less than five minutes," He said, scowling. "They want to play."

"Can you make it?" Carlisle asked, looking towards Bella.

"No, not carrying." He said, "Besides, the last thing we need is for them to catch the scent and start hunting." He explained.

"How many?" Emmett asked Alice.

"Three" She answered quickly.

"Three!" Emmett scoffed. "Let them come." He grinned, which contrasted to the rest of our downcast faces.

I turned my eyes to Carlisle, wondering what he would decide that we should do, The moment dragged on for what seemed like ages.

"Let's just continue the game." He finally said calmly. "Alice said that they were simply curious."

Esme turned to Edward and whispered quickly "Are they thirsty?" She asked.  
>Edward shook his head, and Esme breathed a sigh of relief. "You catch, Esme," He said, "I'll call it for now." He then planted himself in front of Bella.<p>

The others returned to their places in the field, but Edward gestured to me. He leaned down next to me and whispered in my ear. "Stay here, behind me. Your the last line of defense. Protect Bella at all costs." He leaned away.

I nodded and then stood up, taking a spot slightly behind and to the right of Edward and Bella, so that I could have a good vantage point of the rest of the field.

Edward leaned down to Bella. "Take your hair down." He said in a low voice.

Bella pulled her rubber band out and shook out her hair.

"The others are coming now." Bella said obviously.

"Yes," Edward said, confirming her statement, "Stay very still, keep quiet, and don't move from my side, please" He said, turning towards her and pulling her hair down around her face.

"That won't help." Alice said quietly. "I could smell her from across the field."

"I know." Edward said, frustrated.

Everyone started playing again except for Edward, Bella, and I, but it wasn't as entertaining as before.

"What did Esme ask you?" Bella asked, leaning into Edward.

He hesitated. "Whether they were thirsty." He murmured.

The game continued, and Edward quickly turned to me. "If things get out of hand, wait for my signal. Don't do anything unnecessary." He said, and I nodded. He turned back around, and the movement of his head tokd me that he was watching the forest.

"I'm sorry, Bella." He said angrily, "t was stupid, irresponsible, to expose you like this. I'm so sorry."

I heard the footsteps, then, and Edward did too. He took a sharp intake of breath and looked towards right field. He took a half step that angled him between Bella and the new vampires. I turned my whole body in the direction.

Everyone else also heard the footsteps, and we all stopped and turned to await the unknown.

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**I am SO SORRY for not updating sooner; I've had an enormous writers block. so, so sorry**...


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